News Media Urged to Better Protect Children's Rights

An official of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Friday called on media to better protect children's rights of privacy and speech in news coverage.

Dale Rutstein, Chief of Communication for UNICEF in China, said in Beijing that news reporting on issues related to children should guard against identifying them if that could expose them to harm, such as those who had committed crimes, were infected with HIV virus, or suffered sexual abuses.

"Reporters should also avoid stereotypes and sensationalism and give children better opportunity to express their opinions," Rutstein said at a meeting with Xinhua News Agency on coverage of the upcoming Universal Children's Day, which falls on November 20.

Xinhua and the UNICEF on Thursday decided to launch a global media campaign for children's rights in the run-up to Nov. 20. A 24-hour global live multimedia coverage of events related to children's welfare is scheduled on the day.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the United Nations (CRC) on Nov. 20, 1989. As of Wednesday, more than 500 media organizations worldwide had confirmed participation in the joint campaign.

At the meeting, Rutstein also urged photographic reporters to respect the real situations when photographing children. "No content manipulation should occur."

He said the UNICEF would appreciate photographs of children that make them look "natural", not necessarily miserable or pitiable.

Rutstein said he stressed the protection of children because children are a vulnerable group whose rights are often overlooked or even encroached.

The CRC is the first legally binding international agreement on protection of children's rights. The legal systems of all countries that have ratified the convention must abide by it.

The CRC spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere are entitled to, including the right to survival, to develop to the fullest, to be protected from abuse and exploitation, and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life.

(Xinhua News Agency November 6, 2009)