The First International Congress of StreetNet:
NOTING
1. that there are instances of children working as street vendors, either independently or assisting parents who are street vendors, informal market vendors or hawkers;
2. that many of these children are working to augment low incomes earned by the adults in their families;
3. that on occasion these childrens work keeps them out of school and prevents them from developing their skills and abilities to the best of their potential;
HEREBY RESOLVES
1. that StreetNet supports ILO Convention 138 and Recommendation 146 of 1973 on the Minimum Age, and Convention 182 and Recommendation 190 of 1999 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour;
2. to unconditionally support the rights of all children to attend school, to encourage informal market vendors, street vendors and hawkers to ensure that their children complete their schooling, and to promote opportunities for their further education;
3. to unconditionally support the promotion and exercise of equal rights for girl children, and to fight against any form of discrimination against the girl child;
4. to work for the increase in incomes for adult street vendors, informal market vendors and hawkers as the best means of eliminating the need for children to work to augment the incomes of adult family members;
5. to promote the establishment of secure and affordable child care centres for pre-school children of street vendors, market vendors or hawkers close to their places of work operating appropriate hours for them to be able to fully utilise such centres. Where possible, such child-care centres should be integrally linked to town or market plans;
6. to promote urban planning approaches which incorporate facilities for the care of the pre-school children of street vendors, informal market vendors and hawkers.
PROPOSED: CNTG and Eastern Cape Alliance of Street vendors
SECONDED: FEDEVAL
