Media and Children's Rights

Commissioned by UNICEF and based on the practical experience of working journalists, what follows is an attempt to assist media professionals and others to consider how the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child might impact upon the way children are represented in and by the media.

Its purpose is to generate responsible coverage of children and the impact of adult behaviour and decisions on their lives, as well as to encourage media professionals to consider how best to protect the rights of children and help children to play a role in the mass media.

First published in 1999, a revised and expanded second edition was published in February 2005. (Read the press release here.)

A third edition was published in March 2010. For copies, email info@mediawise.org.uk

Contents

Media professionals and children's rights
The Convention on the Rights of the Child
Children with disabilities
Children and discrimination
Children and the family
Child labour
Children and armed conflict
Children's health and welfare
The child's identity
Children's opinions and civil freedoms
Children in public care
Children and the media
Children in the media
Education
Children and crime
Sexual abuse and exploitation of children
The responsibilities of the state
Appendices

The Convention on the Rights of the Child
UN Millennium Goals
A World Fit for Children?
IFJ Guidelines
WHO Guidelines
A calendar of 'hooks'
Useful contacts

The second edition of the booklet can be downloaded here:
(Note: to read PDF documents, install Adobe Acrobat Reader)