Millicom, the emerging market telecommunications company headquartered in Luxembourg, has collaborated with UNICEF to develop a new tool which helps conduct self-assessments using the global Children's Rights and Business Principles.
The new Child Rights Impact Assessment tool has been specifically designed for mobile operators, with Millicom looking to ensure its industry-wide adoption in the future. It aims to provide businesses with an assessment of how their activities might both directly and indirectly impact children, by examining issues such as child online protection; child labour within the distribution of SIMs and scratch cards; extracting valuables from e-waste and safeguarding children from accessing potentially dangerous network infrastructure. The self-evaluation also considers more traditional business issues such as child rights in the supply chain, the treatment of employees with families, and the management of security forces.
"We would encourage all telecommunication operators to integrate child rights considerations into their business policies and management systems," commented Andres Franco, Deputy Director, Private Sector Engagement, UNICEF. "This commitment would significantly help to identify and address their impact on children and the communities where they live. The telecommunications industry touches the lives of children every day. With this new tool, companies all around the world can carry out a self-assessment of their child rights responsibilities and take the steps needed to protect children and improve their well-being."
"The Children's Rights and Business Principles relate to every sector and industry in a different way," continued Milka Pietikainen, VP Corporate Responsibility at Millicom. "This tool focuses on issue material to mobile network operators, and is based on the experience of Millicom applying a child rights lens to our operations. This more focused tool has helped us to quickly get a view of potential gaps and opportunities. The ICT sector has a lot to contribute to child rights which is why we hope that our peer companies will review the tool from their perspective and provide feedback to the final version. Our aspiration is that our industry can work together to take the lead on child rights."
Natasha Jackson, Head of Consumer Affairs, GSMA, concluded: "The GSMA congratulates UNICEF and Millicom on piloting this self-assessment tool for mobile operators to measure how their operations are impacting child rights - from child online protection considerations to HR policies - and warmly encourages its members to join the consultation process over the coming weeks."
The consultation period will involved the wider telecoms industry and will last until the end of February. The final Mobile Operator Child Rights Impact Assessment Tool will be launched in March 2016.
Photo © UNICEF/BANA2014-00368/Mawa
