The International Day for Street Children takes place on the 12th of April each year. The day provides a platform to recognize the rights of the millions of street children around the world, so that their rights cannot be ignored. The International Day for Street Children was launched in 2011 by the Consortium for Street Children (CSC), the leading international network dedicated to realizing the rights of street children worldwide. Since the first international day in 2011, the United Nations commissioned a report into street children in order to be better able to protect and promote their rights. This report was presented in the March 2012 session of the Human Rights Council.
On the said day, Consortium for Street Children, a UK-based charity with a global members’ network, is asking government officials and members of the public to look beyond common preconceptions and open their eyes to street children’s potential.
The theme for the International Day for Street Children, 2016 was “Identity”. Under the program the CSC are looking at street children’s identities in terms of the difficulties these children and young people have, when trying to get identity documents and how this leads to them not being able to access key services such as education and healthcare. In 2016, the CSC wants to challenge negative perceptions of street children and highlights their potential. CSC also used social media to mobilise on 12th April a worldwide movement that touched around 12 million people who can help to make sure that children in the streets are seen not as criminals or victims, but as children with potential.