ASSIGNMENT 1

CHILD RIGHTS INITIATIVE WITHIN THE PHILIPPINES

The Department of Justice (DOJ) through its Committee for the Special Protection of Children
published guides for media practitioners on the reporting and coverage of cases involving children.

The said guide requires media practitioners to respect the child’s right to privacy and best
interest of the child shall be the primary concern over publicity; that the child’s dignity must be
respected at all times; that access to media by children must be encouraged as part of the child’s right to
be heard; and that the media is a partner in the promotion of child rights and prevention of child
delinquency, and is encouraged to relay consistent messages though a balanced approach.

Impact: The guidelines protect a child by way of limiting the child’s exposure to the public via media,
thereby also minimizing the toll of the issue on the mind of the child, protecting him from the prying
eyes of the public, and shielding his innocence from the malice arising from the issue. The media is duty
bound to be conscious in the preservation of privacy, dignity, due process, and welfare of the child

GLOBAL CHILD RIGHTS INITIATIVE

UNICEF: Convention on the Rights of the Child is an agreement signed by countries who promised to
protect children’s rights. The said convention provided for the rights of the child and responsibilities of
the governments.

Impact: Countries which are part of the pact integrated the rights specified in this convention to their
national laws. At present, laws affecting children are based and is revolving in UNICEF’s Convention on
the Rights of the Child.

The DOJ’s guides for media practitioners on the reporting and coverage of cases involving children’s
principles are similar to the words of UNICEF’s Convention on the rights of the child, particularly on the
promotion of the child’s welfare being the primary concern. They are also alike in terms of upholding a
child’s basic rights may it be based on the national laws or international laws/convention.

Both initiatives are part and parcel of one another as one can be taken as a general guideline while the
other can is a more particular guide in a certain practice within a country. The DOJ’s guidelines are
patterned in several national laws which are traced from UNICEF’s convention.