A/HRC/19/35 5. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, the body of experts in charge of monitoring the implementation of the Convention, regularly raises the issue of children in street situations in its dialogue with State parties, and refers specifically to their situation in several of its general comments, in particular No. 13 (2011) on the right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence, No. 12 (2009) on the right of the child to be heard and No. 10 (2007) on children‟s rights in juvenile justice. Other treaty bodies have also referred to the situation of children, both boys and girls, living and working in the street, and have made recommendations in this regard. 6. In addition to the Convention, its Optional Protocols on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and on the involvement of children in armed conflict and the recently adopted Optional Protocol on a communications procedure, it must be noted that all core human rights treaties apply to both adults and children; indeed, some contain specific provisions relating to children, such as article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Other international instruments also are key to the protection of children working and/or living on the street, particularly those dealing with child labour, trafficking, juvenile justice and alternative care for children. These include the Minimum Age Convention No. 138 (1973) and Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182 (1999) of the International Labour Office, which distinguish between acceptable work carried out by children and economic exploitation, or child labour, of which total abolition should be achieved. 7. Another essential instrument that protects the rights of children in street situations, given their risk of being trafficked, is the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. There are also several non-binding instruments which set standards on juvenile justice, such as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules), the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (The Riyadh Guidelines) and the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (Havana Rules). The recently adopted Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children are intended to enhance the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international instruments regarding the protection and well-being of children deprived of parental care. They provide guidance on policies and practices for the alternative care of children. III. Children and their connections to the street A. Terminology and figures 8. The term “street child,” used by the Commission on Human Rights in 1994, was developed in the 1980s to describe “any girl or boy [...] for whom the street (in the broadest sense of the word, including unoccupied dwellings, wasteland, etc.) has become his or her habitual abode and/or source of livelihood, and who is inadequately protected, supervised or directed by responsible adults.” At that time, “street children” were categorized as either children on the street, who worked on the street and went home to their families at night; children of the street, who lived on the street, were functionally without family support but maintained family links; or abandoned children who lived completely on their own. 9. Research in the 1990s found these categories did not accurately reflect the children‟s circumstances or experiences. It was also generally agreed that the term “street child” carried negative connotations. Although the term can be used pejoratively, some street children and their representative organizations use it with pride. Today, “street children” is understood as a socially constructed category that, in practice, does not constitute a 4