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_______________________________ Raymond Scicluna Skrivan tal-Kamra Annual Report 2014 Office of the Commissioner for Children 1 The Office of the Commissioner for Children was set up in terms of the Commissioner for Children Act of 2003, to promote the welfare of children and the compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as ratified by Malta, and such other international treaties, conventions or agreements relating to children as are or may be ratified or otherwise acceded to by Malta.
© Copyright 2015, Office of the Commissioner for Children Published by the Office of the Commissioner for Children 16/18, Tower Promenade St. Luċija SLC 1019, Malta Tel: +356 21 485180 Email: cfc@gov.mt Websites: www.tfal.org.mt and www.zghazagh.org.mt Design & Printing: Dormax Press Co Ltd - Marsa Illustrations by David Schembri, taken from the book ‘My Rights’ published by the Office of the Commissioner for Children.
Desiree’ Oliveri Rights 4U Participant 1 Table of Contents Message from the Commissioner Background to the Work of the Commissioner for Children in 2014 Annual Report 1 Children’s Rights – General Education and Consultation Festa Tfal Marking the Convention’s 25th Anniversary Meeting Children Child Participation in the Practice of their Religious Faith Friendship across cultures Other Children’s Rights Resources World Children’s Day Advocacy UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Human Rights Mainstreaming Children’s Rights at the highest levels of decision-making Recommendations Case Work Participation in Children’s Rights-Related Networks and Fora Eurochild A Europe-wide strategic approach to children’s rights Raising Awareness about Global Development Issues Promoting Children’s Participation Investing in Children Irregular Migrant Children Safeguarding Human Rights Considerations and Concerns Defining and Refining Children’s Rights A Stronger Framework for the Protection of the Rights of Children A Stronger National Effort to Advance the Rights of Children in Malta Children’s Right to Safe and Beneficial Media 15 Education and Consultation 15 Safe Use of New Communication Technologies 15 Resources Making good use of the Internet Advocacy Cyber-bullying Positive Internet Use Participation in Children’s Rights-Related Networks and Fora Towards a Better Internet Understanding internet safety 15 16 17 17 18 18 18 18 Safe and beneficial broadcasting media 19 for children Portrayal of vulnerable children in the media 19 Considerations and Concerns Good Internet Use and Safety Safe and beneficial print media for children 3 Children’s Right to Play, Leisure and Creativity Education and Consultation Structured leisure Encouraging and valuing children’s artistic expression President’s Award for Creativity Recommendations Combat Sports Indoor Play Areas Children affiliated with Sports Clubs Participation in Children’s Rights-Related Networks
 and Fora Safe accommodation for child tourists Right of Children with a Disability to Play Considerations and Concerns Age-appropriate entertainment for youngsters Towards a regulated practice of sports by minors Helping Talented Children 19 19 20 21 21 21 21 21 21 21 22 22 22 22 23 23 23 24 24 2 Table of Contents 4 Children’s Right to Child-Friendly Justice 25 7 Children’s Right to an Upbringing Recommendations Children serving a prison sentence The Presence of Children in Court Participation in Children’s Rights-Related Networks and Fora Sensitive interviewing of child victims of violence by police officers Considerations and Concerns Dealing with child offenders 5 Children’s Right to Health Education and Consultation Children in hospital Health of Unborn and Newborn Children Advocacy Children’s autonomy over their health Children in hospital Tattoos Recommendations Road safety Therapeutic Structures for Children with Mental Health Difficulties Children in hospital Healthy Eating Breastfeeding Participation in Children’s Rights-Related Networks and Fora Female Genital Mutilation Unborn Child Considerations and Concerns Health Behaviours of Children 6 Children’s Right to Education Education and Consultation From Childhood to Adolescence Learning in groups Educational achievement Advocacy Compulsory school age School Transport Ethics in Education Recommendations Educating through school rules Safeguarding the privacy of school children Considerations and Concerns A plurality of educational pathways Research Fostering Recommendations Fostering Participation in Children’s Rights-Related Networks and Fora Child Marriage Family Reunification Considerations and Concerns Unaccompanied Minors 8 Children’s Right to the Promotion and Protection of their Dignity 39 39 39 40 40 40 40 40 41 41 43 Recommendations 43 Preventing ill-treatment of confined children 43 44
 Gender identity Child Trafficking 45 The Continuum of Care for Juvenile Offenders 45 Participation in Children’s Rights-Related Networks and Fora Corporal Punishment Gender and Sexual Identity Considerations and Concerns Corporal Punishment 9 Conclusion 46 46 46 46 46 47 3 Message from the Commissioner for Children This relatively new reality brings into play a plethora of new opportunities, safeguards and stakeholders that are vital to the well-being of children.
This means that there is a lot of work to be done concertedly by a wide range of actors in providing and inducting children in the opportunities and safeguards that are particular to the virtual world.

For example, the internet opens up new possibilities for establishing and maintaining close social relationships with people across national borders.

At the same time, these new opportunities necessitate new rules and guidelines for ensuring personal safety when interacting with others online.
A very important element of how children can live harmoniously in these two worlds lies in their ability to strike and keep a balance between their dual lives.

Sticking with the above example, it is important that children maintain a few close relationships with family and friends in the real world whilst fostering more superficial albeit fruitful relationships with a larger network of people online.
As an entity whose call is to promote the rights and best interests of children, the Office of the Commissioner for Children works within and across these three spheres.

We strive to facilitate the creation of the best possible opportunities and safeguards through which all children can grow both in the real world and the virtual world by working with children and with public and private decision-makers.

The Office’s Annual Report 2014 bears testimony to this rationale.
I would like to express my gratitude to all those individuals and organisations with whom I have worked in the course of the year and thanks to whom much valuable and seminal work as is described in the report has been accomplished.

Helen D’Amato Commissioner for Children The two.


Being the first phase of life, childhood is the first stage of a journey of discovery of oneself, the world and the relationship between the partial journey of childhood can only accomplished be if two broad and basic conditions are met.
A child requires opportunities that allow him or her to grow, physically, mentally and on other levels, as a result of being exposed to myriad things in the environment, such as food, education and love, which propel the child forward in his or her journey.
At the same time, the child’s passage throughout this journey must be checked by safeguards that protect the child from suffering undue harm that is over and above those bitter experiences that are a necessary and inevitable part of the child’s maturing process.

Ms Helen D’Amato Opportunities and safeguards originate both from within and from without the child.
For instance, opportunities for the child to become educated result from laws and policies that enable a child to go to school as well as from the child’s diligence in applying himself or herself to his or her studies.

Likewise, safeguards for the child to not get injured whilst playing stem from regulations that ensure that what the child plays with is safe and from the child’s cautiousness in playing safely.
It is important to take stock of the fact that children nowadays live in two different and sometimes poorly interconnected worlds, namely the real world and the virtual world.

There is no other age-group of people whose presence in either world is as even as is that of children.

Children are the denizens of the virtual world in that a good part of their lives is lived on the internet, which is fast becoming their main stage for playing, socialising, communicating and accessing content and information.
4 Background to the Work of the Commissioner for Children in 2014 In 1990, Malta ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), thereby binding itself to the principle that irrespective of its political and economic circumstances, the rights of children must be respected always.

This gave rise to the need for an independent body to monitor and promote Malta’s abidance by this principle.
Thus it was that in 2003 the Office of the Commissioner for Children was set up through an act of law (the Commissioner for Children Act).

To fulfil its function, the Office requires an adequate supply of the following: legal and/or administrative tools; i. ii.

human resources dedicated to shaping the Office’s vision and strategy; iii.

material resources dedicated to carrying out the Office’s vision and strategy.
The Office’s arsenal of tools consists of public advocacy, consultation with children, education and awareness-raising, investigations, recommendations and research.

The Office’s vision and strategy are shaped by the Commissioner, whose decisions are free from any external control (Commissioner for Children Act, Article 4).

In 2014, the Office of the Commissioner for Children was held by Ms Helen D’Amato.
The Commissioner advised by a Council for Children, made up of public officers relevant from Ministries and a number of children who are chosen their peers and by then co-opted on the Council.

the key is The Office’s vision and strategy are carried out by a is responsible for following up team of six full-time workers of whom two, do administrative work.

The Office is also supported by a part-time worker supplied under the Me2 Coop scheme and a driver.
A key post, the Case Officer, individual who cases, has been vacant for the past year and a half because the green light for a fresh recruitment has not yet been given.

The same applies for the Office Secretary who retired in 2012.
The Office’s expertise on children’s rights issues is also augmented by its membership of two important European networks, namely Eurochild, a network of organisations and individuals working in and across Europe to improve the quality of life of children and young people, and the European Network for Ombudspersons for Children, better known by its acronym ENOC.

Within ENOC, the Office shares views and information with its European counterparts on a regular basis.
The Office team operates from spacious and independent premises situated in Sta Luċija.

The Office is run on the strength of an annual budget of €180,000, the bulk of which is used to finance initiatives and activities that benefit children in a direct way.

Eleven years on from the inception of the Office, there is an urgent need for a clear understanding as to what the best mechanism for monitoring the respect for the rights of children in Malta should be, and to reform the Office accordingly.
Such changes should be inspired by the in Paris Principles order to ensure the mechanism is both powerful and independent.

that 5 Annual Report It is a matter of basic fairness and transparency that a monitoring entity, as is the Office of the Commissioner for Children, should itself be scrutinized.
The Office’s Annual Report, whose publication and presentation to Parliament is required by the Act, is a good tool to allow all those outside the Office with a professional or personal interest in the rights and well-being of children, to form a factual and critical judgment of the work of this Office.

At the same time, the Annual Report is intended to stimulate public debate on issues related to the rights of children in the hope that these can be addressed in a concerted manner by all the stakeholders.
For these reasons, the Office strives to present its Annual Report in a way that is as attractive and accessible as possible by adopting inter alia a vibrant design; publishing the report in both Maltese and English; making a number of copies of the report available to Members of Parliament, while a number of CDs are laid on the Table of the House of Representatives; distributing free copies of the report to various entities and individuals, and ultimately by making the report public on www.tfal.

org.mt.
org.mt.

The report that follows is another testimony to the Office’s efforts in this direction.

6 Children’s Rights – General 1 In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, Courts of Law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.
(UN CRC, Article 3) Education and Consultation Festa Tfal Education and Sports and by the Director, lecturers and students of the Institute of Community Services (MCAST) in order to be able to organize such an event.

Children and adults can easily get absorbed in just one of the children’s rights at the expense of other rights.
So this year, the need for the creation of an offline-online balance was the theme chosen for Festa Tfal, which is an event held on two consecutive days and open to all schools, which celebrated World Children’s Day.

This theme gave us the opportunity to tackle a number of rights in a co-ordinated manner.

School children, representing state, church and independent schools were engaged in a mix of activities including the safe and constructive use of the internet, healthy eating and physical activity.
Each activity was coordinated by experts in the respective activity, namely the BeSmartOnline!

team who managed the activities related to internet safety, nutritionists from the Health Promotion Unit, who helped the children prepare a balanced snack, while students following the B.Ed course and who are specializing in sports, engaged the students in various physical activities.
The key role of educators in encouraging children to make good use of the internet was promoted through a special programme about the importance of internet safety for the accompanying adults, which ran parallel to the children’s event.

The educators were addressed by a Psychologist who spoke about the online behaviour of adolescents in transition and by Officials from the Cyber Crime Unit of the Malta Police Force.

The presence of the President of Malta, H.E.


Ms Coleiro Preca, and members of the Social Affairs Committee and the Family Affairs Committee at the event helped raise public awareness about the theme of the event and to move it further up the national agenda.

The event was held at the Institute of Physical Education and Sports within the University of Malta.
The Office was supported by the Head of Institute, Institute of Physical lecturers and staff of the H.E Ms Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta, during her visit to Festa Tfal.

Marking the Convention’s 25th Anniversary The historic importance of the Convention on the Rights of the Child lies in the fact that for the first time the rights of children were articulated in writing and hence set as gold standards for the well-being of children across all temporal and geographical boundaries.
An event organised by the President’s Foundation for the Well-being of Society to commemorate the Convention’s 25th Anniversary celebrated the graphic or written element of the Convention.

This event saw a variety of short messages about the Convention and its meaning being written on a white-board by a number of children and public figures working in the field of children’s rights.

Her Excellency the President was the first to sign and she was followed by the Commissioner for Children.
In her message, the Commissioner stressed the fact that children’s rights were an offspring of human rights and that they thus had to be taken seriously.

The Commissioner marked the anniversary of the Convention in this way also in the rerun of the event that was held in Gozo.

7 Children’s Rights – General Friendship across cultures Encouraging children to meet and befriend children of a different ethnic origin is an excellent way to foster respect for the equal rights of minority groups.
To this end, the Office provided financial support for a Summer Camp, organized by the Organisation for Friendship in Diversity, in which African migrant children and children of Maltese and European descent participated.

In the course of the summer camp, which offered children a diversity of outdoor settings in which they could have fun, the Commissioner found time to meet with the children and observe the natural ease with which they interacted with one another.
Other Children’s Rights Children are truly and fully empowered when they stand up not only for their rights but those of other children too.

The Office seeks to promote this form of empowerment among children by rewarding those school children who in the opinion of their teachers and heads of schools were most active in defending the rights of their peers.

It does this through ‘The prize for children as promoters of children’s rights’, which every year sees the participation of a number of schools.
As many as twenty schools nominated as many children to receive a book prize.

Resources World Children’s Day For obvious logistical reasons, only a relatively small number of children can be reached through an educational event like Festa Tfal.

The publication and distribution of educational resources in the form of activity books, short stories and tip sheets is an excellent way to reach out to all children within a particular age group.
It was for this reason that as part of the celebrations of World Children’s Day, all children from Kindergarten 1 till form 4 attending state, church as well as independent schools received one of the Office’s many publications on children’s rights.

For instance, all children in year 5 were given a child friendly version of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, whilst the age cohort in year 6 received the booklet published by the Office in 2013 entitled ‘My Rights’.
Ms Helen D’Amato, Commissioner for Children writing her message at the event organized by the President’s Foundation.

Meeting Children Going out of the Office premises to meet children in their environment is a routine but important part of the Office’s work.

The Commissioner met with several children in their schools or community centers where they attended.

During such meetings, she engaged them in a frank and open discussion on their rights.
Child Participation in the Practice of their Religious Faith The practice of a religious faith is an important part of a child’s moral and spiritual development.

Such practice and development are enhanced when children are given the chance and the space to make their voices heard to their religious leaders.

Such a chance and space exist in the Kummissjoni Djoċesana Tfal (KDT), a network and forum of children hailing from catholic parishes all over Malta.
The KDT requested a meeting with the Commissioner to discuss their work.

The children gave the Commissioner a concrete testimony of their activity by playing a CD of songs with a religious theme that were sung by the choir that is part of KDT.

Mrs. Helen D’Amato, together with the members of the Kummissjoni Djoċesana Tfal (KDT), during their visit at the Office.
8 Children’s Rights – General 1 Advocacy UN Convention on the Rights of the Child This year marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention (UN CRC) by the UN General Assembly.

The Convention was ratified by Malta less than a year later.
The National Institute for Childhood within the President’s Foundation for the Well-being of Society chose to celebrate this anniversary through a half-day seminar that sought to shed light on the impact the Convention has had on the well-being of children in Malta.

An imporant part of this impact lies in the work of the Office of the Commissioner for Children as a body that monitors the implementation of the Convention in Malta.
Ms D’Amato, together with her two predecessors, was invited to present the achievements and outstanding challenges of her ongoing term as Commissioner.

the In her address, Ms D’Amato underlined strengthening of the Office’s resources, including the numerous alliances forged with governmental and non-governmental entities.

She also stressed the work carried out in educating and listening to children on matters related to their rights.
The Commissioner called for the Office to be further strengthened in its powers and autonomy.

Underpinning this, she said, was the need to incorporate the Convention in national legislation.

Mrs. Helen D’Amato, together with her two predecessors during the seminar commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the UNCRC.

Ms D’Amato wrote that although at law all children were granted the same rights, in reality not all children were accessing their rights to the same extent.
By way of example, the Commissioner mentioned the phenomena of academic underachievement and child obesity.

Mainstreaming Children’s Rights at the highest levels of decision-making We are living in an age when some important decisions that affect the lives of people are often taken at a higher level than that of the nation state.

This can present a complex challenge when ensuring that the rights and perspectives of children acquire and retain a prominent place in the political agenda.
To address this challenge, the Office called personally on all prospective Maltese MEPs, ahead of the European Parliament elections, to make the rights of children a cornerstone of their electoral agenda.

They were encouraged to sign the Child Rights Manifesto, drafted jointly by fourteen child and youth-focused international organizations, and by promoting this document in the public domain.

Three of the Maltese candidates who signed the Manifesto were elected to the European Parliament.
Recommendations It is important that the Commissioner for Children has regular and personal contact with those persons responsible for policies that affect the rights and well-being of children.

To this end, the Commissioner held meetings with various Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and Heads of various entities.

The Commissioner presented many of the Office’s unimplemented recommendations and pressed for their timely implementaion.
Amongst these recommendations were the need for the process leading up to the finalisation and implementation of a National Children’s Policy to be expedited, and the need for a clear, holistic and long-term vision in the field of out-of-home care.

Human Rights Case Work In a written statement to the press on the occasion of Human Rights Day, the Commissioner opined that children’s rights were nothing more than a special vehicle for children to realise their human rights.
Commenting on the state of children’s rights in Malta, The Office followed up many individual cases of alleged breach of children’s rights.

Although the cases followed spanned across a wide range of children’s rights, the most common issues were family or school-related.

In all cases, the Office 9 Children’s Rights – General applied its policy of directing complainants to the official avenues of redress and of intervening only when such avenues had been exhausted.
Participation in Children’s Rights- Related Networks and Fora Eurochild contact requires constant Eurochild, and communication between its myriad members in order to function in an optimal way.
It was with this aim that the Commissioner and the Office’s Task Manager participated in the network’s General Assembly which brought together all Eurochild member organisations to discuss the network’s achievements and projects during the past ten years that it has been set up and to extend the network to other organisations.

The Commissioner was asked to deliver a short message on Malta’s experience as a member of Eurochild to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the setting up of this network.
A Europe-wide strategic approach to children’s rights The Council of Europe is an assembly of European nations which has consistently taken a proactive stance in the defence of children’s rights.

It has done this not simply by issuing statements of principle but by adopting and seeking to implement a strategy with a clear focus and timeframe of four years.
The Council’s ongoing strategy, which started in 2012 and is set to terminate in 2015, is about the implementation of existing children’s rights standards.

A meeting was held in early 2014 to conduct a mid- term review of what had been achieved so far in terms 10 of the strategy.
The Office’s Task Manager, Ms Suzanne Gili, was part of this meeting which brought together experts and officials from a host of European countries to share and discuss their knowledge and experiences of what each country was doing to advance the rights of children.

The Commissioner on Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Mr Nils Muižnieks, met with the Commissioner for Children when he was on a visit in Malta.
Mr Muižnieks expressed his wholehearted appreciation and support for the work carried out by the Office in favour of the most vulnerable groups of children.

Ms Helen D’Amato, Commissioner for Children with Mr Nils Muižnieks, Commissioner on Human Rights of the Council of Europe.
Raising Awareness about Global Development Issues Many children in Malta risk taking their rights for granted by failing to appreciate that they are able to enjoy their rights only because they happen to live in a democratic country, and that children living in undeveloped or underdeveloped countries do not enjoy the same rights as they do.
This point was conveyed by the Office in its comments on its role in raising awareness about global development issues to SKOP, the National Platform of Maltese Non-Governmental Development Organisations.
The Office highlighted the challenges faced by migrant children before and after landing in Malta, notably through the documentary, featuring an interview with an unaccompanied minor residing in Malta, which was produced in 2013 by ENOC (European Network of Ombudspersons for Children) in collaboration with the Office.
Children’s Rights – General 1 Promoting Children’s Participation When children who are engaged in some form of active participation are given the opportunity to discuss and share their experiences with one another, they are given not only another chance to participate but are empowered to improve and possibly expand their participation in a process of horizontal (child- to-child) learning.
This was the case with a conference that was organised as part of the initiative known as CATS (Children as Actors in Transforming Society), which brought together children from all over the world.

These included two children from Malta who are active members of the Council for Children, namely Rebekah Scerri and Luke Camilleri, both 16 years old, who were accompanied by the Office Task Manager, also secretary to the Council, Ms Suzanne Gili.
Ms Suzanne Gili, Task Manager together with Ms Rebekah Scerri and Mr Luke Camilleri at the CATS Conference.

Investing in Children The effectiveness of any financial investment which is intended to better the lives of children is not measured in any monetary currency but in the currency of the actual outcomes which such investment produces.

This means that effective financial investment should always yield a social return, in the short or long term, in terms of improved levels of well-being for children.
This requires knowledge and application of evidence- based children policies.

The European Platform for Investing in Children is a virtual platform where EU countries can share their policy-making efforts towards the improvement of child well-being.

The Office contributed to updating Malta’s country profile for 2014 by reporting its own initiatives and commenting on other initiatives which it was abreast of as part of its monitoring function.
The need for ‘Better Public Spending for Children’ was the theme and title of the 11th Annual Conference of Eurochild, a network of organisations, including the Office, and individuals working in and across Europe to improve the quality of life of children and young people.
The conference, which saw the participation of the Office in the person of its Projects Officer, aimed to explore methodologies through which Governments can evaluate whether and to what extent their spending impacts the well-being of children in a positive manner.

Even when serious efforts are made to maximise the effectiveness of public spending for children, there is an almost inevitable shortfall between what Governments can spend and what children need.
The conference thus delved into how Governments can tap alternative sources of funding by forging partnerships with the private sector.

Such partnerships are not necessarily driven by the profit motive but by the willingness of private firms to contribute to the social development of the communities in which they operate.

Social corporate responsibility presupposes that private firms are economically healthy and buoyant, which they may not be in periods of economic downturn.
Investment in children is likely to be inadequate in such periods with dire consequences on the level of well-being of children.

This was the theme of the Annual Conference of ENOC which aimed to explore how austerity was impacting the well-being of children across Europe and what could be done to assuage or reverse this impact.

The Office was represetned in this conference by the Commissioner and the Task Manager.
11 Children’s Rights – General Public spending for children requires a holistic and well-articulated plan.

In this respect, the Office was able to share its views with Government on the two draft Operational Programmes which set out what Government was planning to spend Malta’s EU funds on.

In its feedback, the Office called inter alia for a sharper focus on single-parent families and on children in out-of-home care.
Irregular Migrant Children These are a vulnerable group of children which elicits the attention and intervention of a wide range of actors, including non-governmental organisations, human rights bodies and governmental entities.

Fostering dialogue amongst these various stakeholders is crucial for delivering a seamless and effective service to these children and their families.
The Office sought to foster such dialogue by inviting an international group of play workers who had met in Malta under the aegis of the Organisation for Frienship in Diversity, representatives from the Office the Human Rights Commissioner for Refugees and the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers to gather around a table to discuss a broad range of issues related to the plight of irregular migrant children living in Malta.
The informal assembly agreed amongst other things on the importance of mainstreaming migrant children in the educational process and system as the best foundation for their integration in Maltese society.

Safeguarding Human Rights Individual human rights are the bedrock of our society.

This calls for a structure that is charged with defending these rights and which is endowed with the legal and operational means to fulfil its mandate.
The Human Rights and Equality Commission (HREC), which Government is proposing to set up in lieu of the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE), is meant to be such a structure.

The Office submitted its views on the White Paper that was published on the subject, expressing its readiness to work closely with the new Commission in order to achieve consolidation and avoid duplication of work carried out in defence or in promotion of the rights of children.
Considerations and Concerns Defining and Refining Children’s Rights The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is accepted and adopted almost universally as the blueprint for the rights and well-being of children.

It is a fact that the Convention has been signed and ratified by more nations than any other international convention has ever been.
Despite this, it would be wrong to attribute a timeless and quasi scriptural status to the Convention and to believe that there is no scope for improving and updating it.

Twenty-five years on from the coming into being of this highly authoritative guide on the rights of children, the time is ripe for conducting a thorough review of the Convention in order to identify and address its lacunae and weaknesses.
Among the areas that such a review should look into is the right of children to adequate housing, which this Office feels to be not clearly reflected in the text of the Convention.

The latter should also complement its emphasis on the right of children to be exposed to appropriate content through the media with the corresponding right of children to be portraryed in the media in a fair and dignified manner.
It is also felt that specific attention should be paid in the Convention to the internet as a medium of mass communication that is unlike any other in terms of its power and influence on children.

A review of the Convention should be conducted by or in concert with all State Parties.

Such a collegial approach would ensure that the Convention, while being strengthened in its content, is not weakened in the extent of its positive influence on the legal and political systems of the world’s nations.
A Stronger Framework for the Protection of the Rights of Children Whereas in the ideal world, the rights of children derive their strength from their intrinsic moral value, in the real world these rights are very weak unless they are supported by a strong legal and policy framework.

Irrespective of how clearly the Convention is reflected in the laws of Malta, it can have little clout 14 Children’s Rights – General 1 of its own if it is not given legal status but remains merely a political commitment.
The Office thus calls again on Parliament to legislate for the transposition of the Convention into national law.

This would allow children or adults acting on their behalf to seek redress for a breach of their rights.

Another tool that can enable children to right the wrongs they suffer is the 3rd Optional Protocol to the Convention on a Communications Procedure.
The Office calls on Government to not only ratify the Protocol without delay but also to set up the necessary structures for its implementation.

It is felt that the Office of the Commissioner for Children, by virtue of its legal remit and its experience in following individual cases and complaints related to up children’s rights, is best suited to act as the interface between the complainant and the Committee on the Rights of the Child which receives and responds to complaints.
A Stronger National Effort to Advance the Rights of Children in Malta Although judicial and semi-judicial means of redress are essential components of a system that truly protects the rights of children, they can be effective only if they are backed by a strong and genuine effort on a national level to advance these rights.

Children in Malta have benefited from a long string of laws and policies that have enhanced their well- being.
Yet these efforts might not always have been part of a holistic vision and plan that centred around the needs of children.

This vision and plan started to be addressed in 2011 with the drawing up of a Draft National Children’s Policy.

More than three years down the line, children and all those who have their interests at heart are still waiting to see the final product.

The Office thus calls for the National Children’s Policy to be finalised and for its implementation to start without further delay.
The Office is equally desirous of seeing a holistic approach adopted in relation to the laws that impact the lives of children.

Producing a Children’s Act is indeed a mammoth task.

A bill proposing to replace the Children and Young Persons’ (Care Orders) Act was a positive way forward towards the production of an all-encompassing Children’s Act.

Unfortunately so far, this bill has not gone beyond its first reading in Parliament during the first quarter of this year.
The Office thus calls on Government to commit and focus its resources on producing the necessary legislation and on setting up the necessary structures for full implementation.
15 Children’s Rights – General 16 Children’s Right to Safe and Beneficial Media 2 States Parties recognize the important function performed by the mass media and shall ensure that the child has access to information and material from a diversity of national and international sources, especially those aimed at the promotion of his or her social, spiritual and moral well-being and physical and mental health.
(UN CRC, Article 17) Education and Consultation Safe Use of New Communication Technologies Commissioner was present throughout the course in order to understand what youngsters were thinking, feeling and experiencing in relation to the new communication technologies.

This was the theme chosen for this year’s Rights 4U, which was again held three times (once in Gozo and twice in Malta) in order to cater for the demand from 120 youngsters aged between thirteen and fifteen years.
There is no doubt that the intensive and interactive format of this live-in course lent itself very well to dealing with this highly complex and important subject for this young age-group.

Moreover, the courses were enriched through activities generated by the BeSmartOnline!

project.

Like for Festa Tfal, it was ensured, through the distinguished presence of the Hon.

Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, Dr Michael Farrugia, Hon.
Dr. Joe Cassar (Family Affairs Committee) and Mr Josef Camilleri, Director of the HSBC Malta Foundation, which partly sponsored the event, that such a worthy bottom-up initiative would not go unnoticed by the country’s decision-makers.

The Resources The Office developed a number of new resources on internet safety as learning tools for children and other stakeholders as part of the BeSmartOnline!

initiative.
initiative.

Mindful of the fast pace of the internet, a tip-sheet which urges children to ‘think’ (as the tip-sheet is called) before doing anything online and which presents them with the possible consequences of their unreflecting online behaviour was produced.

A more specific resource that was developed was a tip-sheet about ‘snap chat’ and its possible pitfalls.

For the younger age-groups of children, a more ludic resource on internet safety was produced in the form of a board game.
Like parents, educators are a prime agent in shaping and influencing the thinking and behaviour of Hon.

Minister for the Family and Social Solidarity, Dr Michael Farrugia, Hon.

Dr. Joe Cassar (Family Affairs Committee), Mr Josef Camilleri, Director of the HSBC Malta Foundation and the Commissioner together with the Rights 4U Participants.

17 Children’s Right to Safe and Beneficial Media children.

Hence, they have a primary role in directing children towards good online practices.
At the same time, however, they can be at the receiving end of negative online behaviour from their students, such as cyber-bullying.

In order to raise awareness amongst educators of their dual stake in relation to internet use by children, the Office teamed up with the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) to produce and disseminate an Information Note for Educators on Cyber-Bullying.
This note enables educators to identify and deal with cases of cyber-bullying suffered by their students or themselves and to resort, when necessary, to the helpline and hotline set up within Aġenzija Appoġġ, as part of the BeSmartOnline!

project, or to MUT.

Think!

This is an information note on how to make good use of the Internet.

!

Think before you act!

- Act responsibly towards yourself and others whether online or offline.

!

Think before you say things that will hurt others online!
- Everyone has a right to be respected.

Respect others as you wish to be respected.

- Respect the Law – Cyber bullying is a crime.

!

Think before you post online!

- Once you post something online it can last forever as it can be saved and shared by others.

- Your digital footprint is made up of information found about you online.

People may form their opinion about you depending on your digital footprint.

!

Think before you share online!


- Do not share anything which might get you or your friends into trouble today or which you might regret in the future.

- Be careful of what you share with friends online.

Remember that today’s friends will not necessarily be friends tomorrow.

!

Think before you give in to peer pressure!

- It is ok to say no and to be different.

That is what makes you unique.

- People are not always sincere about their actions.

- Refuse requests that make you feel uncomfortable.

!
!

Think before using information you find online!

- Make sure that the websites you are using are trustworthy.

!

Think before staying connected at all times!

- Do not let the Internet take over your life.

Create an online-offline balance in your life!

@ Remember, people are not always who they say they are.

@ Remember, your actions online may have consequences offline.
@ If you need to talk to someone about online safety you can call the Helpline 179, send an email to 179.appogg@gov.mt , or visit www.besmartonline.org.mt.

You can also contact the Cyber Crime Unit on 21 224 001 or send an email to computer.crime@gov.mt in collaboration with The project is co-funded by the European Union through the Safer Internet Programme and is part of the joint Insafe-INHOPE networks.
Making good use of the Internet The internet, if used properly, can be highly conducive to the development and well-being of children.

Furthermore, to ensure that children are safe when using the internet it is better to show them what they should do to benefit from it than to tell them only what they should not do to avoid being harmed from its use.

two are behind considerations the These reorientation of the BeSmartOnline!
project, now in its fifth year, from an ethos of internet safety to one for a better internet.

Such reorientation is taking place across all Safer Internet Centres in Europe and is reflected in the initiative taken by the European Commission and Insafe to create a Youth Manifesto for a Better Internet.
18 Children’s Right to Safe and Beneficial Media 2 Given this new emphasis on the active and positive aspect of internet use, children from all over Europe were invited to shape the Manifesto by sharing their views on how the internet can be made not just safer but better all round and by proposing ways how they can work with the internet industry to make this happen.
To facilitate the participation of children, the consultation encouraged teachers to engage their pupils in an open and searching debate about the web’s positive potential.

A website was set up as a vehicle for this consultation (www.

youthmanifesto.eu).

The Commissioner for Children and the Task Manager visited various schools, in Malta and Gozo, and held specific consultation sessions and introduced the site to the children.
These information session with children resulted in a very lively participation by children from Malta.

Ms Helen D’Amato during a consultation session at St. Monica School in Birkirkara.

for positive To further stimulate responses from children, a internet Europe-wide competition content was set up.

The Office Task Manager and coordinator on behalf of the Office for the BeSmartOnline!

project, Ms Suzanne Gili, was appointed a member of the jury for this competition.
The consultation, will culminate on Safer Internet Day (10th February 2015) when the results of the consultation will be presented in Brussels.

To facilitate the local uptake of this new thrust towards good internet use, a two-day national conference on this theme was organised jointly by the BeSmartOnline!

team, which includes the Office, and the Elearning Department in collaboration with MUT.

The conference targeted the three principal stakeholders on the ground, namely children, parents and educators.
The keynote speech of the conference was delivered by Mr Karl Hopwood, an international expert on esafety issues.

The work done and other initiatives in the pipe line as part of the BeSmartOnline!

project was presented by the Office Task Manager.

The local debate about internet use was further enriched by the participation of youths in the Youth Panel, which met twice, and in as many as thirteen consultation sessions, all of which were chaired and coordinated by the Office.
Parents and carers added their perspective through a meeting of the Parent- Carer Forum, which consultative structure had been set up in 2013.

It is important that those who care for children are aware and familiar with the potential fruits and dangers of the internet for the children under their care.

Such a balanced cognizance of the internet was cultivated through two informative meetings which the Office held with a number of parents.
Internet use is a relatively new but crucial dimension of social inclusion or exclusion.

This calls for efforts to bring the children who are at greater risk than others of being socially excluded closer to the internet and to that knowledge that enables them to use it in a smart manner.

Such efforts were made by the Office, always within the framework of the BeSmartOnline!

project, through awareness sessions that were held with all children in care aged 4 to 16 as well as with their carers.
Advocacy Cyber-bullying Speaking during the public launch of an Information the for Educators on Cyber-Bullying, Note Commissioner said that educators were ideally placed to help in the national efforts to combat cyber-bullying.
The intervention of educators in cases of cyber-bullying had the potential to protect not only the victims of cyber-bullying, who could be children or the educators themselves, but also the perpetrators whom educators could help with the collaboration, where necessary, of social services within or outside the school facility.

19 Children’s Right to Safe and Beneficial Media the BeSmartOnline!
youth panel, in a workshop in which Raisa met with other European youths and with the European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, Ms Neelie Kroes, to discuss how technology can enhance other aspects of child well-being and to set in motion the consultation process for the Youth Manifesto.

Raisa’s experience took place in Brussels where she was accompanied by the Office Task Manager.
Members of youth panels across all Safer Internet Centres in Europe met to discuss the Youth Manifesto and other related themes, notably the issue of how children can become mature users of the internet and the issue of what constitutes positive online content.

The children then presented their deliberations and conclusions at the Safer Internet Forum, which brings together a plethora of stakeholders in the domain of internet safety.
Positive Internet Use The Commissioner closed the National Conference on the Positive Use of the Internet by stating her conviction that a focus on the positive use of the internet by children offered the dual advantage of promoting the development of children, which could in turn make them stronger and smarter against the dangers of the web.
This did not mean, warned the Commissioner, that children who were able to make good use of the internet did not need to be made aware of the things that could harm them online.

Hence, a sharp though not exclusive focus on internet safety should remain, the Commissioner maintained in her address.
Participation in Children’s Rights- Related Networks and Fora Towards a Better Internet The involvement of children in the writing of a Youth Manifesto for a Better Internet did not start after the initiative was launched by the European Commission but was active already at the birth of the Manifesto.

Such early involvement included the participation of Ms Raisa Vella, who is a member of Mr Quentin Bugeja, Maltese Youth Panel member during the Youth- led workshop at the Safer Internet Forum.
As a recognition of the Office’s standing in this very domain, the responsibility for chairing this meeting of the Pan-EU Youth Panel and for coordinating the panel’s participation in the Safer Internet Forum was entrusted to Ms Suzanne Gili, the Office Task Manager.

Understanding internet safety Staying abreast of an ever-changing internet is an essential pre-requisite to educate children on how they can stay safe online.
To this end, the Office, as a partner in BeSmartOnline!, participates in a network, called Insafe, wherein knowledge and information is exchanged amongst the 30 European Safer Internet Centres.

Ms Raisa Vella, Youth Panel Member with Ms Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda.

20 Children’s Right to Safe and Beneficial Media 2 The Office took part in two meetings of this network.
One meeting focused on online privacy and the vulnerability of children to insidious forms of advertising on the web.

The other meeting dealt with a variety of issues such as eating disorders and self- harm among child users of the internet.

Safe and beneficial broadcasting media for children The new and emerging challenges posed by the internet should not make us oblivious to the need for safe and beneficial media in respect of more traditional vehicles of mass communication.
In recent years, there has been a lot of attention from the relevant authorities to how the broadcasting media, notably television and radio, does and should impact children, be it in their capacity as consumers or elements of broadcasting content.
In its latest effort to address such issues, the Public Broadcasting Authority published a draft ‘Code for the Protection, Welfare and Development of Minors on the Broadcasting Media’, with the aim of extending the scope of existing legislation beyond the parameters of advertising vis-à-vis children.
The Office responded to the public call for feedback on the draft code by suggesting a number of ways in which the draft law could be fine-tuned and expressing its disagreement with some of the proposals contained in the draft, notably the lowering of the age-threshold of minority as far as broadcasting is concerned to under 16 years of age.

Portrayal of vulnerable children in the media The media has the power to shape and influence public perception and opinion about the things and people it portrays.
Hence when it portrays children, especially children who are doubly vulnerable, such as children in care, it must act with great discretion and sensitivity, in line with specific standards and regulations.

The Office was asked by UNICEF Montenegro to give an account of the regulatory framework in place in Malta to ensure that children in care are portrayed in the media in a way that does not harm them by compromising their image.
The Office gave an overview of this framework and reported that there were no protective provisions specific to children in care or to any group of children in vulnerable situations.

Considerations and Concerns Good Internet Use and Safety The use of the internet amongst children has grown much faster than has any awareness within this vulnerable age-group about the best way to use this powerful medium of information and communication.

The importance of the BeSmartOnline!


project lies in the fact that it has started to redress this serious imbalance.

However, the road ahead is a very long and challenging one not only because the gap between use and awareness is still very wide but also because of the searing pace at which the internet is developing in terms of its forms, content and applications.

This points to a gross incongruence between the nature and the extent of the challenge that BeSmartOnline!
is trying to address and its status as a project, which, like all projects, is circumscribed within a fixed framework of time and resources.

The EU has had a vital role, through its Commission, in supporting countries in Europe to create the basic infrastructure needed to take on the challenge of good internet use and safety amongst children.

Malta has made very good use of the financial support provided by the EU.
This has been confirmed by the Commission’s positive appraisal of BeSmartOnline!, whose rating was raised from average to excellent.

The percentage of EU funds dedicated to the BeSmartOnline!

project has started being phased out.


This means that Malta must prepare itself from now for this new reality not only by finding the financial means to compensate for the ever diminishing share of EU funds for the project but also by mainstreaming those aspects of the project that are tried and tested into its national laws, policies and infrastructure.
A clear sign that this process has started is the inclusion of modules on digital literacy and internet safety in the new National Curriculum Framework that was launched just over two years ago.

Following the BeSmartOnline!

campaign, the need was felt to include safety issues in the PSCD syllabus.
21 Children’s Right to Safe and Beneficial Media Whilst this process should continue, there is also a strong case for keeping the project alive as a Safer Internet Centre that is dedicated to steering the mainstreaming process and to experimenting with new approaches to good internet use and safety amongst children and young people.

This requires setting up BeSmartOnline!


as a permanent inter- sectoral entity sanctioned by law and endowed with the necessary infrastructure and resources to fulfil its functions in the best way possible.

Safe and beneficial print media for children With so much going on to make the internet and broadcasting safer and better for children, the print media stands out for its seeming scant attention to the needs and vulnerabilities of children.
The law that regulates the operation of the press in Malta, the Press Act, is devoid of specific provisions protecting minors who are the subjects or objects of the print media’s interest.

This is particularly serious in the light of the fact that such media are at the forefront of news and events involving children, and in the reporting of which many an ethical issue is at stake.
Given the basic and constitutional need to preserve the freedom of the press, a strong effort is needed from the print media to regulate itself in a transparent manner.

In this respect, the Office welcomes the plans announced by the Institute of Maltese Journalists to set up a new code of ethics for journalists and to adopt a five-year plan of action to raise professional and educational standards in the sector.
The Office hopes that the needs and vulnerabilities of children as objects of media reporting will not be neglected in this important exercise.

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