MP launches UN Petition to establish children's rights online
Labour MP Derek Wyatt has launched a petition calling on the United Nations to clarify its position on the rights of children on the Internet.
The petition was launched to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the publication of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 November 1989. The Convention provides a framework of rights that children around the world should be entitled to, such as the right to life, identity and protection from exploitation.
Wyatt, who co-Chairs the All Party Communications Group in Parliament, has drawn up a petition in conjunction with a number of children’s organisations which calls on the United Nations to “examine and assess whether the Convention on the Rights of the Child fully addresses the needs and expectations of children in the digital age”.
Wyatt said: “The Convention on the Rights of the Child has been a vital instrument in improving the lives of children across the world, and its 20th anniversary should be celebrated by everyone concerned with child welfare.”
“However, it is plain to me that the world young people are growing up in today is hugely different to that in 1989. The pervasiveness of the Internet and mobile phones gives innumerate opportunities for young people to learn, develop relationships and establish their own identity.”
“But we also know that young people are often the most vulnerable users of new media, and can be bullied or exploited in their own home by someone on the other side of the world.”
“Many governments are to be praised for how they balance the right of access and privacy with protection, our own included. What we are aiming for is the UN to come back and say that all governments must work together to ensure that all children around the world are given the same basic rights and protections under the auspices of the Convention.”
“I therefore urge everybody interested in this important issue to visit www.derekwyatt.co.uk to view the petition and sign up.”
The campaign is also backed by EU Kids Online, Childnet International and the Family Online Safety Institute, whose members include BT, AOL, Google, Microsoft and Myspace.
Source: Derek Wyatt