The Egyptian government has launched its strongest commitment to improving the lot of street children to date. Negar Azimi reports on the launch of the latest initiative, interviews Shahida El-Baz and reviews the latest Human Rights Watch report on the situation of street children in Egypt The Strategy for the Protection and Rehabilitation and Integration of Street Children in Egypt constitutes the first cohesive national policy on a problem that has reached epidemic proportions. The strategy, presented in a report by the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), was inaugurated at the Cairo International Conference Centre on 10 March. Keynote speeches were delivered by Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, who serves as president of the Technical Advisory Committee of the NCCM, Ambassador Moushira Khattab, head of the NCCM and Shahida Azfar, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) representative in Egypt. The report's approach represents a significant change from past trends in the treatment of street children as a policy issue. Central to the philosophy of the report and its recommendations is an understanding of the problem as a socio-economic phenomenon rather than a purely legal or criminological one, which has proven the general rule in addressing street children in the past. The report argues that there is a dearth of existing policy in addressing the needs of street children beyond the often inflexible framework provided by Egypt's Child Law. The current policy takes little account of the particular emotional and physical vulnerabilities of a child. Indeed, according to UNICEF's Azfar, children making a life on the street are too often regarded as delinquents under the existing policy: "If we continue to treat street children simply as a law enforcement issue, it is tantamount to denying some of the most vulnerable members of society their basic rights as human beings. This means that current legislation, practices and mechanisms for dealing with street children may need to be revised to better ensure their protection from a holistic social and rights perspective." Also acknowledged in the NCCM report is the ubiquity of negative attitudes surrounding street children in Egypt. From dishonesty and thievery to the prevalence of drug abuse, an abundance of stereotypes are readily attached to children who live on the street. By accounting for such tendencies among both the general public and the authorities, the report takes a first step, however modest, in combating them. As remarked by political economist Shahida El-Baz, the report's author, "Recognising that there needs to be a change in attitude is the point of departure and our first strategic objective. Today society gives little respect to the rights of children on the street. There is an incredibly strong negative attitude in evidence." Furthermore, capacity building at multiple levels is presented as a central recommendation of the NCCM report, which advocates a developmental approach rather than one rooted in unsustainable welfare or philanthropy. At the macro level, the report espouses a proactive mobilisation of national resources for the protection and rehabilitation of street children. Such a mobilisation would presumably initiate training programmes at the grass-roots level of the teachers, police officers, psychologists and social workers who come into contact with children every day. Additionally crucial is defining the parameters of the problem. No unanimous definition of street children is in use in Egypt today, particularly given the sensitive nature of the situation and its intimate links with child labour, education and poverty. Beyond the sensitivity of the issue, life on the street often defies simple categorisation. While some children may not have a place to sleep at night, others may not be homeless but forced to be out on their own all day working to support the family. For these families, school fees are often too overwhelming to even consider. While they may have a home to go to at the end of the day, these children are just as vulnerable to exploitation as those who sleep on the streets. Without a clear definition, compiling statistics on the issue and gathering momentum to advocate change and garner funding have been virtually impossible. Indeed, like countless social phenomena in Egypt, a lack of research on the subject of street children has proven an obstacle in bringing attention to the problem and, by extension, formulating effective policy to combat it. Given such a context, the report provides for a comprehensive database on street children to be compiled via extensive data collection. In addition, the new strategic plan proposes to set forth a clear definition of street children that will defy all tendencies toward ambiguity. Egypt has significant international commitments to honour in addressing the pressing needs of its swelling population of children. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment among other statutes set forth basic human rights forth standards to be upheld under international law. Egypt is party to all of these treaties. Remarks El-Baz, "particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child has made the question of children a globally sensitive issue. No country can escape from this kind of accountability any more." Monday's launch of the NCCM report included a series of working sessions for persons from multiple sectors, including both the government and NGOs. Ambassador Khattab delivered the closing remarks with the report's ultimate recommendations. The NCCM initiative is certainly an important one. It remains to be seen, nevertheless, whether tangible change will take place on the street. Particularly as the NCCM lacks significant implementing power, it will be up to the ministries, NGOs and, finally, the local authorities who have contact with these children on a daily basis to reverse a set of deplorable trends.
