Family reunification and the rights of children in street situations in Uganda and The Gambia

Summary

A joint submission to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for the preparation of the report on the Rights of the child and family reunification, to be presented at the Human Rights Council Annual Discussion on the Rights of the Child in March 2022.

This is a joint submission prepared by the Consortium for Street Children, Child and Environmental Development Association (The Gambia), Initiative for Community Concern (Uganda), Save Street Children Uganda (Uganda) and Support And Love Via Education International (Uganda). We believe that we have an important perspective on the issue of family reunification and children’s rights: family reunification is a crucial and complex issue for children in street situations. As a group, many of these children have been separated from their families. Family separation can occur for a range of reasons, including children choosing to leave their families, being forced to leave by their families, or being separated by forces out of their control such as the detention of family members. Children may choose to leave their families for various reasons, including violence in the home, family breakdown, substance dependency issues among caregivers, and poverty.