Street Children and Human Security in Africa: Assessment of the Regional Responses

Abstract

Street children are widespread in Africa, largely because of the failed child protection system that characterize most African states. The UN CRC and ACRWC are the essential legal instruments for protection of children generally. While these instruments have made some achievements in enhancing the conditions of children by extension enhancing human security in the region, the phenomenon of street children is still on the increase and culturally entrenched. The paper therefore interrogated African governments’ response to the human security issues associated with street children in the region. The paper relied on document analysis and interview methods to establish the relationship between the variables. It found that the critical issue associated with street children being a human security concern lies in the fact that African countries have not considered it as a development priority. The paper recommended that African governments should implement children’s rights programs as a development priority and put mechanisms in place to scale up the voice of children among other recommendations.