NEW VIDEO PACK AIMS TO ENFORCE THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
The tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 20 November 1999 is a day to celebrate the recognition and protection of children's rights. But with so many children and adults unaware of these rights, and with the most powerful country in the world – the US – still to ratify this Convention, is the tenth anniversary something to celebrate?

Anti-Slavery International is launching Our News, Our Views to mark this important anniversary. The educational video pack draws attention to one of the most pervasive abuses of children's rights throughout the world – child labour. It aims to reach the children and young people that the Convention set out to protect.

The pack is made up of a series of news reports and activities to be used in schools and youth groups. It has been produced to raise awareness on children's rights, to ensure that the Convention on the Rights of the Child becomes a functioning reality for young people, rather than the anonymous document it is today.

The pack is at the cutting edge of peer education, with young people teaching other young people about their rights and responsibilities. For the teenagers taking part in the production of the pack it was a unique opportunity to learn about the rights they share with children around the world, and to look at how these rights are protected and denied in daily life. With this knowledge they were able to write, produce and present a series of video news reports to raise awareness among other young people.

The video news reports explore rights in the workplace, from paper rounds in the UK to firework factories in India, as well as examining related issues such as education, health and the law. They are a dynamic way of transforming rights into action, providing young people with a platform to express their views on working rights.



Notes to editors:



The news reports are available in Beta and VHS formats

The 15-18 year-olds who took part in the project are available for interview to talk about their participation in the project, their views on children's rights and what the tenth anniversary means to them.

Cleophas Mally, Director of WAO-Afrique (a Togolese NGO working with child domestic workers) is also available for interview from 23 to 26 November. A former child domestic worker himself, he became involved in the project when the group who focused on child domestic work interviewed him for their news report. He brings an African perspective to the question of children's rights, as well as his personal views on youth participation and the issues covered in the pack.

For further information or a copy of Our News, Our Views, please contact Martine Miel on tel:020 7501 8935, e-mail: m.miel@antislavery.org
2 November 1999 PR/9/99
ŒOur News, Our Viewsı
The video pack consists of eight news reports each focusing on a different aspect of child labour. Each group of young people researched a specific topic relating to the child labour debate and decided what they wanted to say and who they wanted to interview. Their views and ideas make up the reports, which they have written, produced and presented.

The eight news reports are:
1. Child Labour in the UK
2. Child Labour in India
3. Child Domestic Work
4. Child Labour in the USA
5. Positive Effects of Child Labour
6. Negative Effects of Child Labour
7. Education
8. Childrenıs rights in the Workplace

Many of the reports provide a new angle on the chosen issue. News Report 7 challenges the idea that education is the best solution to child labour. It raises questions about the dangers of using blanket terms, such as education, without thinking more carefully about the relevance of the subjects and skills taught in the classroom.

After carrying out research into child labour and education in the UK, Group 7 concluded that, with 75 per cent of all children working illegally (Low Pay Unit figures), education is doing little to teach young people about their rights. They highlight the concern that while every child has a right to education, education itself is not a solution to child labour unless it informs young people about their rights. The group felt that education should provide children with information about legislation, enabling them to recognise when it is being broken at their expense.

News Report 5 concentrates on the positive elements of work and the different attitudes young people have towards work. In one interview a young boy from Morocco expresses a view that is often ignored by governments: "What Iıd like to know is who are these people who want to ban child labour? Why do they want to ban it? Do they know the conditions we live in?" A young British reporter urges governments to listen to children: "Itıs time that the children at the centre of these problems were consulted, after all it will be their livelihoods that will be affected."

As youth participation becomes a more accepted practice, Our News, Our Views provides a platform for British teenagers to put forward their opinions, and promote discussion among other young people on an issue that affects millions around the world.