A/HRC/19/35 I. Introduction 1. This report is submitted to the Human Rights Council pursuant to resolution 16/12 of 24 March 2011, in which it invited the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to conduct a study on challenges, lessons learned and best practices in a holistic, child rights and gender-based approach to protect and promote the rights of children working and/or living on the street and to present it to the Council at its nineteenth session. It also requested OHCHR to conduct the study in close collaboration with relevant stakeholders, including States, the United Nations Children‟s Fund (UNICEF) and other United Nations bodies and agencies, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for children and armed conflict, the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and other relevant special procedures mandate holders, regional organizations, civil society, national human rights institutions as well as children themselves. 2. Contributions were received from States, intergovernmental organizations, national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academia and individual experts. On 1 and 2 November 2011, OHCHR, with the support of Aviva,1 the Consortium for Street Children and UNICEF, organized an expert consultation on children working and/or living on the street, to gather input from different stakeholders. Two documents were commissioned by OHCHR for this process: a global research paper by independent consultant, Dr. Sarah Thomas de Benitez; and a paper on the views of children led by the Consortium for Street Children. Both documents, as well as the results of the consultation, written submissions, input from States and other stakeholders informed the preparation of this report. All these documents and information about the process are available at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Children/Study/Pages/childrenonthestreet.aspx. II. International legal standards 3. The international legal framework establishing the obligations of States in relation to children has never been as comprehensive as it is today. The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child constitutes the main international instrument for the promotion and protection of the rights of the child, and it applies to all children in all circumstances. Its almost universal ratification demonstrates the importance that States accord to the protection and promotion of the rights of children. The Convention is unique as the first legally binding instrument to take a holistic approach to the rights of the child. It covers a whole range of rights – civil, political, economic, social and cultural; establishes a framework of duties for different actors; marks a milestone in recognizing all children as rights holders and reaffirms the general principles of best interests of the child, nondiscrimination, participation, survival and development as the framework for all actions concerning children. 4. All children, irrespective of their economic status, race, colour, sex, language, religion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or any other status have the same rights and are entitled to the same protection by the State. While the Convention makes no particular reference to children working and/or living on the street, all its provisions are applicable to them. 1 Aviva is the world‟s sixth largest insurance group and the largest in the United Kingdom (www.aviva.com). 3