To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development how many street children there are in South America; in which South American countries they are located; and how many street children there are in each country. [123726]

I have been asked to reply.The Government fully share the hon. Member's concern about the plight of street children in South America. The rights of children worldwide are a central part of our human rights policy. We monitor the situation of street children throughout South America carefully in dialogue with regional governments and NGOs; as does the EU. However the nature of the problem is such that it is very difficult to know precisely how many street children there are in individual South American countries.