Ariticle16Protection of privacy
- No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation.
- The child has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
This Article establishes that children have the right to privacy and secrecy of communications and that their honor and trust must be protected. The “right to privacy” refers to the right to live a peaceful life without undue peeping into or interference with his/her private life. Specifically, it means that no one may find out what the child is doing or playing with whom, see the child's diary or message history with friends, rummage through the child's room or belongings without permission, or listen in on the child's telephone calls. “Secrecy of communications” means that the contents of personal communications, such as phone calls, e-mails, letters, and messenger apps, may not be observed or revealed to anyone. It also stipulates, in order to protect the honor and credibility of the child, that the child's social reputation must not be needlessly damaged.
Details set out in the article
Paragraph 1 stipulates that the child shall not be subjected to any selfish or unlawful invasion of secrecy or interference with his/her private life, family, residence, or communications such as letters, emails, and messenger app chats, and that his/her honor and reputation shall not be unlawfully impaired. In other words, this article guarantees children's right to privacy and secrecy of communications, and that their reputation and credibility will be protected. Paragraph 2 provides that the child has the right to be protected by law in order to safeguard the rights set out in paragraph 1 against interference and violation.
