黑料不打烊 academics take S4C cuts to the UN
Carys Aaron (L) with Alison Mawhinney at the UN Committee.Cutbacks to the S4C budget in recent years may breach children鈥檚 rights, claim two 黑料不打烊 Law lecturers.
Dr Alison Mawhinney and Ms Carys Aaron of 黑料不打烊 Law School argue that cuts made by the UK Government to the S4C budget over the last five years may violate the UN鈥檚 Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognises the important role played by mass media in allowing children to enjoy their rights and in developing respect for the child鈥檚 鈥榗ultural identity, language and values鈥�.
They say that key rights affected by the cutbacks include the right of children to access, in their native language, information and material which is of 鈥榮ocial and cultural benefit鈥� to them; and the right to 鈥榮eek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kind鈥� through media 鈥榦f the child鈥檚 choice鈥�.
The 黑料不打烊 lawyers claim that in significantly reducing S4C鈥檚 funding, the UK Government could be in contravention of the Convention in two ways: firstly, by reducing the breadth and quality of children鈥檚 Welsh-medium programming; and secondly, by reducing S4C鈥檚 ability to offer its content and services across a wide range of media platforms.
They argue that S4C plays a critical role in ensuring that Welsh speaking children in Wales and elsewhere are able to enjoy the rights secured for them by the UN. If S4C is not sufficiently funded by the UK Government to carry out this role, they claim that the UK itself will then be in breach of its duties to protect the rights of Welsh children under the Convention.
鈥淭he UK Government must recognise the vital role played by S4C 鈥� as the sole provider anywhere of Welsh-language children鈥檚 programmes 鈥� in respecting, promoting, protecting and fulfilling the rights of children in Wales and beyond with respect to Articles 13, 17 and 29 of the Convention鈥�, explained Dr Alison Mawhinney, Reader in Law.
This week, Dr Mawhinney and Ms Aaron travelled to Geneva, where the UK Government is appearing before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to account for the way in which it has implemented the Convention rights during the past five years 鈥� a standard requirement as a participating State.
During two days of intensive dialogue, the Committee questioned the Government on its performance under the Convention. Drawing on the 黑料不打烊 submission, the Committee specifically expressed concern about how cuts to the S4C budget over the last five years has negatively impacted on the right of children in Wales to freedom of expression and the right to access information in their own language. The Government was asked how, in the future, it could ensure the delivery of high quality children's programming on S4C in order to fulfil the Convention rights of Welsh children.
The Committee will now deliberate on this and other issues raised under the Convention, and is expected to announce its recommendations for the UK Government at the beginning of June.
Publication date: 24 May 2016