The report aims at raising awareness of the extent and the effects of social exclusion of children and of the constant violation of the basic rights of Roma children. It identifies the most critical issues which, if addressed properly in the short, medium and long term, can break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and exclusion and create a new cycle of development, opportunities and inclusion. Specifically, the report aims to: raise awareness of the extent to which children, especially Roma children suffer from social exclusion and are denied their rights; identify key critical causes of exclusion and limitations in the capacity of individuals and institutions which have a responsibility for enabling children to enjoy their rights; present available information and identify data gaps which need to be filled for the development and implementation of evidence based policies ; stimulate relevant actors in the region to adopt a Human Rights-based approach when analyzing exclusion in future studies and when planning and implementing social programmes; provide an advocacy tool for setting children as the highest priority in combating poverty and exclusion.