Albania

[AL] KKRT Proposes a Charter on Child Protection in Media Coverage

IRIS 2013-5:1/8

Ilda Londo

Albanian Media Institute

On 29 March 2013, the Këshilli Kombëtar i Radios dhe Televizionit (National Council of Radio and Television - KKRT) proposed the draft of a Charter on Child Protection in Media Coverage (“Charter”).

According to KKRT’s public statement, the objective of the charter is to draw attention to children’s rights and the respective responsibilities of media representatives. The proposal also states that the Charter will apply to media as a whole, i.e., reports, documentaries, TV programmes and any article in the print media that involves children or reports on them.

This proposal emerged after controversial coverage of a paedophilia case in Albania that caused significant public reaction, especially on social networks.

The KKRT is consulting with various institutions. It reported that the proposal had been sent to several institutions and organisations that focus on media and child protection, such as the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Commissioner for Protection of Personal Data, the People’s Advocate, the UNICEF mission in Albania, the Association of Radio-Television Broadcasters, and the Union of Albanian Journalists. KKRT invited the representatives of these institutions to assemble and draft a common Charter directed at professionals from both print and audiovisual media.

So far the KKRT has issued the “Regulation on Warning Signs Related to Ethical and Moral Norms in Radio and Television programmes,” approved in 2009. In terms of self-regulation, the Code of Ethics, first created in 1996 and revised in 2006, has a special section on media dealing with children. Similarly, the Albanian Media Institute, in cooperation with KKRT and other organisations, has drafted guidelines on coverage of minors in the media. However, there are no self-regulatory bodies in the media to oversee the implementation of the Code and related regulations. Besides the regulatory framework of the KKRT, child protection measures are basically laid down in the Law no. 8410 “on public and private radio and television”.

A final draft has not so far been created.