Litigating the Rights of Street Children in Regional or International Fora: Trends, Options, Barriers and Breakthroughs

Abstract

This article focuses on the fate of street children and interactions between street children and international law and international institutions. The landmark November 1999 decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Villagrdn Morales v. Guatemala, provides the basis for this article. Villagrdn Morales was the very first case in the history of the Inter-American Court where the victims of human rights violations were children, and the first case ever involving street children before an international adjudicatory body. This article examines the significance of this decision for street children.