This document provides guidelines from UNICEF on when to promote and restrict the use of its photographs. It outlines that UNICEF should promote the use of its images to advocacy partners to raise awareness of issues facing children, as the visuals provide powerful evidence. However, all external use of images must respect child rights and be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. UNICEF will restrict the use of its images if the context could violate child rights, contradict UNICEF policies, or unduly risk further unauthorized use. Commercial use is also prohibited without a model release. Non-UNICEF entities are not allowed to store UNICEF images in their databases.

1. UNICEF Photography Guidelines Promote Child Rights > When to Promote/Restrict Use
http://photos.unicef.org/guidelines-childrights-promote-restrict
WHEN TO PROMOTE/RESTRICT USE
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When to promote use
UNICEF communicators, programmers and fund-raisers should not
underestimate the 'added value' that strong photographic images
can bring to advocacy work, whether at the district, national or
international levels. Images offer immediate, tangible evidence of
both problems and solutions facing children and women, or relating
to social development issues in general. They are an integral part -
the visual evidence - of the package of expertise, support and
mobilizing strength that UNICEF offers. They are often a decisive
factor in increasing the impact and reach of UNICEF advocacy;
accelerating agreement to a partnership or donation; or convincing a
media outlet to run a story, or to feature it more prominently.
©UNICEF/NYHQ1996-1165/Miller Externally, UNICEF encourages the sharing of its images with UN,
An indigenous woman and child in
Guatemala in 1996. Ownership of
NGO and other programming partners (including educators) and
photographs carries the responsibility news, feature and other editorial media (such as book publishers)
of ensuring that image use is whether in print, web or video formats.
respectful and accurate, and does not
expose the subjects to harm.
Of course, broad use of UNICEF images will enhance the dissemination of UNICEF priorities and
programming perspectives only if this use is appropriate. Therefore, all image promotion and use
by external parties should be decided on a case-by-case basis, evaluating the following factors:
• Is the proposed context appropriate for the image?
• Are child rights (including the right to identity, privacy, protection) respected?
• Does the use promote children/women issues and UNICEF- related policies?
• Is the requester a programme or media partner?
When to restrict use
Copyright ownership not only gives UNICEF the right to use its images in worldwide advocacy,
programming and fund-raising campaigns. It also includes the legal right to deny image use in any
context that would: violate the rights of children or other people; breach or contradict other UNICEF
policies; weaken a child rights campaign that is identified with specific images; or unduly risk
subsequent unauthorized use of images.
In addition to the inappropriate editorial uses reviewed in Respect real situation; No content
manipulation; and Protect children at risk, rights to reproduce UNICEF images should not be
granted:
• for commercial purposes, including in co-branding partnerships;
• for duplication in non-UNICEF image databases;
• for personal projects or for the web sites of sub-national or non-professional entities.
Commercial associations: Because the vast majority of UNICEF images are documentary,
subjects depicted have NOT signed model releases permitting commercial use. Therefore, UNICEF
automatically denies permission for use of its photographs to endorse, or in association with,
commercial products/entities - including co-branding fundraising partnerships where a product
endorsement may be implied. (For more on image use in co-branding partnerships, see:
Commercial images for commercial partnerships) Particular care must be taken to ensure that
UNICEF images are not used in association with:

2. UNICEF Photography Guidelines Promote Child Rights > When to Promote/Restrict Use
http://photos.unicef.org/guidelines-childrights-promote-restrict
• manufacturers or promoters of products whose use UNICEF generally opposes, such as:
armaments, including landmines; infant formula; tobacco; alcohol; war toys;
• manufacturers of pharmaceuticals: this avoids potential conflicts of interest, given UNICEF's
role as a major global purchaser of vaccines and other medical products;
• other UNICEF suppliers: United Nations regulations forbid any supplierto publicize its vendor
relationship with the UN. Therefore, photos showing, for example, pharmaceutics or vehicles
in a UNICEF field operation, cannot be featured in any promotion of those products or their
vendors. This prohibition is also intended to ensure UNICEF neutrality in the marketplace.
(see also: Commercial products...)
Non-UNICEF databases: Inclusion of UNICEF images in the libraries or other long-term storage
systems or databases - hardcopy or digital - of any non-UNICEF entity or individual is expressly
prohibited. (This does not include images that are part of archived publication layouts for which
rights were granted.) This is not intended to curtail legitimate advocacy or information sharing,
particularly with other UN agencies or with government, NGO or major media partners. It is meant
to ensure that use of images created 'for UNICEF' - as subjects are frequently advised upon being
photographed - takes full account of child rights and UNICEF policies. This cannot be taken for
granted with either:
• other development/humanitarian partners that may not be aware of the child rights, copyright
and model release laws governing image reproduction;
• media organizations that may not apply the special protection standards to image use that
UNICEF requires.
For the same reasons, access to high resolution images on UNICEF Photography -
www.photos.unicef.org - is subject to case-by-case authorization by designated communication
staff with administration rights to their respective country collections.
Sub-national web and/or personal requests: Digital communication, especially the Web, has
exponentially increased requests for image use by all entities. This is partly because asking for an
image is only an e-mail away. Given the need to review usage context, and to know the background
of the requester, requests far outstrip response capacity. This requires UNICEF to make strategic
choices in the use of its images to cost-effectively maximize outreach and impact. On this basis,
personal requests for image use are usually denied.
Additionally, the Web and other internet platforms is, by definition, international media. Therefore
requests to use images on the sites of sub-national entities (whether they are NGOs or other
cause-related groups) are discouraged. The preferred option for UNICEF is to suggest that the
requester link to UNICEF's site. There, images and related information are already available in a
context that UNICEF fully endorses. This also saves time spent on meeting the request. Finally,
any third party use of UNICEF images must be weighed against the desirability of reserving images
to support a unique and dynamic UNICEF communication presence globally.