Adhering to Media Guidelines

The National Committee for Families and Children (NCFC) champions the rights, welfare and

development of Belizean families and children, which includes the protection of children’s rights under

the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, of which Belize is a signatory.

Our mandate includes working with all the media houses in the country to provide education on their

roles and responsibilities in protecting the identities of children when reporting the news. With regards

to the coverage of the house fire incident this week, where the names of two very young children were

reported as part of the story, the NCFC wishes to remind everyone working within the news industry of

the media guidelines previously circulated.

Your attention is drawn, in particular, to point 1, “In any case where a child is involved in incidents, the

reporting of which is deemed to be in the public interest, the child’s identity is to be protected where

public knowledge of such identity may have adverse effects on the child”. In this particular instance, the

names did not add any substance to the story, did not serve any public interest, and therefore should

have been withheld, regardless of the fact that they were given as part of an interview by the operations

fire officer. The NCFC reiterates that "Children have an absolute right to privacy...” and this is only

exempted in special and extreme circumstances.

As a self-regulating industry, the NCFC asks that the members of the journalism profession treat the

protection of children’s identity with the importance and respect it deserves, and that the media in

general adhere to this principle in every instance.

**Press Release***

“Championing the Rights, Welfare and Development of Belizean Families and Children”