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Human rights and corporal punishment of children
Corporal punishment of children breaches their fundamental human rights to respect for human dignity and physical integrity. Its legality in almost every state worldwide - in contrast to other forms of inter-personal violence - challenges the universal right to equal protection under the law.
This section includes information on:
The Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Treaty Body — the Committee on the Rights of the Child
Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child requires States to protect children from "all forms of physical or mental violence" while in the care of parents or others. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has consistently interpreted the Convention as requiring States to protect children from all corporal punishment and has recommended that prohibition should be accompanied by public education to promote positive discipline.
Click here for details of the Committee’s comments and recommendations.
Other international human rights instruments and corporal punishment of children
The Human Rights Committee, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Committee Against Torture have all condemned corporal punishment of children in penal systems and schools, in comments and recommendations. Certain instruments including the United Nations Rules and Guidelines concerning juvenile justice also condemn corporal punishment.
Key judgments from high-level courts which have condemned corporal punishment, quoting human rights principles
Over the last decade, a series of judgments from constitutional and supreme courts and from the European Court of Human Rights have challenged the legality of corporal punishment of children in penal systems, schools and in some cases in the family home.
Click here for details of judgments
Global Initiative briefings for human rights monitoring bodies
The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children regularly submits briefings to the pre-sessional working groups of the UN human rights treaty monitoring bodies, including the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Committee against Torture, the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Where possible, briefings are also submitted to regional treaty monitoring bodies, including the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The briefings summarise the legality of corporal punishment and any relevant research in member states being examined during each of the sessions of the Committees, and call for specific recommendations to be made in relation to children’s right to protection from all violence under the Convention concerned.