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SUPPORTERS
The Global Inititiative's aims are endorsed by UNICEF, UNESCO, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr Sergio Vieira de Mello and many other organisations and individuals - see below.
The Global Initiative was launched in Geneva in April 2001 (see statement for the launch made by the then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson).
The individuals listed below, prominent in the promotion and protection of human rights, have signed this statement urging action to end all corporal punishment:
"Children too are holders of human rights!
"It is widely acknowledged now that corporal punishment is a fundamental breach of children's rights to respect for their human dignity and physical and mental integrity. The Convention on the Rights of the Child requires States, in its article 19, to protect children from "all forms of physical and mental violence" while in the care of parents and others. The fact that corporal punishment of children is legal in many countries, unlike other forms of inter-personal violence, challenges the universal right to equal protection under the law.
"Hitting children is also a dangerous practice, which can cause physical and psychological injury and even death. Corporal punishment is identified by research as a significant factor in the development of violent attitudes and actions, both in childhood and later life. It inhibits or prevents positive child development and positive forms of discipline. Promoting positive, non-violent forms of discipline empowers parents and reduces family stress.
"Yet corporal punishment in the family home is still a legal and common practice in most states of the world. In many, corporal punishment remains an accepted form of discipline in schools and other institutions, and in some it is authorised as a sentence for juvenile offenders and as a punishment in penal institutions.
"We the undersigned believe this is the right time to make quick progress towards ending social and legal acceptance of corporal punishment globally. Some countries have already prohibited all corporal punishment, including in the family. The purpose of legal reform in this area is to change attitudes and to promote positive family relationships – not to increase prosecution of parents. Many States have banished corporal punishment from their schools and other institutions, with positive results. Constitutional and supreme courts have provided landmark judgments condemning it.
"We therefore call on governments to declare their opposition to corporal punishment of children and to set a timetable for eliminating corporal punishment. This requires both explicit legal reform and also public education involving all sectors of the community including children."
Dr Ibrahim A Alsheddi, former member, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Patmalar Ambikapathy, former Commissioner for Children, Tasmania
Paul Arzt, former Ombudsperson for Children and Youth, State of Salzburg, Austria
Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra, Ombudsperson for Children, Mauritius
Inger Axell, Senior Human Rights Adviser, SIDA, Sweden
Hoda Badran, Egypt; first chair, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Vera Burnay Batalha, Responsible for Children and Juveniles, Office of the Ombudsman of Portugal
Akila Belembaogo, Burkina Faso; second chair, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Zuzana Benesova, Assistant to the Defender, The Office of the Public Defender of Rights, Czech Republic
Xavier Bonal, Deputy Ombudsman for the Rights of Children, Sindic de Greuges, Spain
Mr Theo C van Boven, former Special Rapporteur on Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Carol Bower, former Executive Director, RAPCAN, South Africa
Claire Brisset, former Defenseure des Enfants (France) and former President of the European Network of Ombudspeople for Children
Gillian Calvert, Commissioner, New South Wales Commission for Children and Young People, Australia
Mrs Sonia Camilleri, former Commissioner for Children, Malta
Saisuree Chutikul, former member, Committee on the Rights of the Child, member Committee to End Discrimination against Women
Professor Luigi Citarella, member, Committee on the Rights of the Child
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Rt Revd Dr David Coles, Anglican Bishop of Christchurch, New Zealand
Radhika Coomaraswamy, former Special Rapporteur on Elimination of Violence against Women
Brice Dickson, former Chief Commissioner, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
Jaap Doek, sixth chair, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Ake W Edfeldt, Sweden
Professor Doctor Yakin Ertürk, Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
Målfrid Grude Flekkøy, Norway's and the world's first Ombudsman for Children
Francesco Paolo Fulci, former member, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Jaume Funes, former Ombudsman for Children for Catalonia (Spain)
David G Gil, Professor of Social Policy, USA
Savitri Goonesekere, Professor of Law, Vice Chancellor, Colombo University, Sri Lanka
Charlotte Guldberg, Chairman, Danish Council for Children
Dr Amina Hamza El-Guindi, former vice-chair, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Reidar Hjermann, Ombudsman for Children, Norway
Grazina Imbrasiene, former Ombudsperson for Children, Lithuania
Jose M. Duarte De Jesus, Ambassador, Personal Representative for Children, UN, Portugal
Mario Vigues Jimenez, Director Ninos & Adolesencia, Defensoria de los Habitantes de la Republica, Costa Rica
Judith Karp, former vice-chair and rapporteur, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Ms Moushira Khattab, member, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Cindy Kiro, New Zealand Commissioner for Children
Claire Kirschen, Special Representative for Belgium to the UN Special Session on Children
Nada Korac, Professor, Personal Representative of the President of FR Yugoslavia to the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children; President, Yugoslav Commission for Cooperation with UNICEF and for Advancement of Women
Lothar Krappmann, member, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Nevenka Krusarovska, Deputy Public Attorney of the Republic of Macedonia and Ombudsperson for Children's Rights
Dr Ravindra Kumar, Secretary General, World Peace Movement Trust
Ecaterina Laudatu, The Romanian Ombudsman, Department for Child's Protection
Ms Yanghee Lee, seventh chair, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Claude Lelievre, Délégué général aux droits de l'enfant de la communauté française, Belgium
Thorhildur Lindal, former Ombudsman for Children in Iceland
Nadezda Lisitsina, Children's Ombudsman for Novgorod, Russia
Norberto Liwski, former member, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Shirley Mabusela, former Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission and Commissioner for Child Rights
Sandra Mason, Barbados, third chair, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Nafsiah Mboi, fourth chair, Committee on the Rights of the Child
The Hon Roger McClay, former New Zealand Commissioner for Children
Isabella Fiske McFarlin, former Director Emeritus of Free the Kids! Programme, Canada
Michael McLaughlin, Diaconia, Brazil
Monica McWilliams, Chief Commissioner, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
Esther Queenie Mokhuane, former member, Committee on the Rights of the Child
George Moschos, Deputy Ombudsman, Head of Department of Children's Rights, Independent Authority, Ombudsman of the Hellenic Republic, Greece
Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn, Thailand, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children; currently UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the DPR Korea
The Most Reverend Njongonkulu Winston Hugh Ndungane DD FKC, Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town
Professor Manfred Nowak, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Lena Nyberg, Children's Ombudsman, Sweden
Rev Ron O’Grady, Hon President, ECPAT International
Professor Kim Oates, Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Sydney and Executive Councillor of ISPCAN
Rosa Maria Ortiz, member, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Awa N'Deye Ouédraogo, fifth chair, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Dr Sev Ozdowski, OAM, former Human Rights Commissioner and acting Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Sydney, Australia
The Rt Revd John R Packer, Bishop of Ripon Lisbet Palme, Sweden, former member, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Brent Parfitt, member, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Deborah Parker-Loewen, former Children's Advocate, Saskatchewan, Canada
Victoria Popescu, Diplomat, UN Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Romania
Ven. Galayaye Piyadassi, Head of Sri Saddhattissa International Buddhist Centre, London
Ghassan Rabah, former member, Committee on the Rights of the Child
IngibjQrg Rafnar, Ombudsman for Children in Iceland
Lily I Rilantono, former member, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Mrs Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Marie-Anne Rodesch-Hengesch, President of the Ombuds Committee for Children's Rights, Luxembourg
H. E. Mrs A. Samakova, Minister, Personal Representative, National Commission for Family & Women's Affairs of Kazakhstan
Mrs Marilia Sardenberg, former vice-chair, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Professor Harendra De Silva, former Chairman, National Child Protection Authority, Sri Lanka
Natalija Sokolova, Lawyer of the Latvian National Human Rights Office, Children's Rights Protection Department
Louise Sylwander, first Children's Ombudsman, Sweden
Christian Theiss, Ombudsman for Children's Rights Styria, Austria
Elisabeth Tigerstedt-Tähtelä, former member, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Tamta Tsutsunava, former Head of the Child Right Centre, Public Defender s Office of Georgia
The Most Reverend Desmond M Tutu OMSG DD FKC, Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town
Ankie Vandekerckhove, former President, European Network of Ombudspeople for Children and Children’s Rights Commissioner for the Flemish Community of Belgium
Revd Michael Volland, Gloucester Cathedral, United Kingdom
Ms Nevena Vuckovic-Sahovic, member, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Trond Waage, former Children's Ombudsman, Norway
Dr Jan C.M. Willems, Professor of Human Rights Law, Maastricht University, Netherlands
Statement of the then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson, on the occasion of the launch of the "Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children"
"I am particularly sensitive to the protection of the human rights of children, and the issue of corporal punishment is one of great importance to child rights.
"I am very supportive of this important initiative because I believe that physical punishment is a practice that sends the wrong message to children. It usually demonstrates the inability of adults to educate, and when necessary discipline, children by other means such as dialogue and discussion. It also shows adult ignorance of the capacity of children to understand and distinguish right from wrong, with proper guidance. The use of violence is a practice that can hamper the child’s development of his or her communication ability; it can encourage aggressive behaviour and can destroy the child’s self-confidence and internal value system. Physical punishment generates a destructive relationship based on force, between the adult and the young person; a relationship that can hinder trust within the family. Research shows that the use of physical punishment risks perpetuating the use of violence by successive generations.
"The recourse to physical punishment by adults reflects a denial of the recognition, by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, of the child as a subject of human rights. If we want to remain faithful to the spirit of the Convention, strongly based on the dignity of the child as a full-fledged bearer of rights, then any act of violence against him or her must be banned, in accordance with articles 19 and 28.2 of the Convention.
"The Convention on the Rights of the Child offers valuable tools to combat the use of corporal punishment. It requires States parties to take all necessary legislative measures to prohibit all forms of violence. It also encourages States to take preventive action, including through human rights education and by creating an environment conducive to the administration of discipline ‘in a manner consistent with the child’s human dignity’.
"I believe that in addition to legal prohibition, sensitization of all actors of society - in particular parents and teachers - to the negative impact of physical violence is a key aspect of the process leading to a non-violent society. Violence should never be legitimized.
"Physical punishment denies children their fundamental right to grow-up to become capable of making a responsible contribution to a free society. Children and adolescents deserve better than to be beaten for their so-called errors or disobedience. They deserve constant and quality guidance and attention; creative and enriching dialogue; and stimulating and challenging education. No form of violence, including physical, sexual or psychological, can ever be justified as being in the best interests of the child.
"For all these reasons, I can assure you of my full support to such a ‘Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children’ and I wish all success to the organizers of this campaign."
Geneva, 10 April 2001
NGO Support for Global Initiative
The following international and national non-governmental organisations support the Global Initiative and its Statement of Aims:
International:
Consortium for Street Children
Defence for Children International
Instituto Interamericano del Niño, la Niña y Adolescentes
International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations
International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW)
International Federation Terre des Hommes
International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN)
NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child
OMCT - World Organisation Against Torture
PLAN International
WAVE (Worldwide Alternatives to ViolencE)
World Congress on Family Law and the Rights of Children and Youth, 2001
National:
Action for Children & Youth Aotearoa, New Zealand
Activating Bridgebuilders, Finland
Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission
African Network for the Prevention and Protection of Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN Regional Office Kenya)
Albanian Children's Rights Network
Americans for Constitutional Protection of Children
Asociacion Chilena Pro Naciones Unidas, ACHNU, Chile
Asociacion Doses/Agencia La Nana, Guatemala
Associação de Mulheres Contra a Violência (Association of Women Against
Violence), Portugal
Association de Lutte Centre le Travail des Enfants, Niger
Austrian Child Protection Society
Belize Centre for Human Rights Studies
Børnerådet - National Council for Children in Denmark
Brainwave Trust, New Zealand
Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children
CECODAP, CRC Coalition, Venezuela
Center for Child Rights, Somaliland
Center for Effective Discipline, USA
Center for Non-Violent Education and Parenting, USA
Central Union for Child Welfare, Finland
Centre for Human Rights "AMOS", Republic of Macedonia
Centre for the Protection of Children, Kyrghyzstan
Child Protection Alliance, The Gambia
Child Welfare League of Canada
Child Workers in Asia, Thailand
Childhood Without Tears Association, Bulgaria
ChildHope UK
Children of the Andes, United Kingdom
Children's Agenda, New Zealand
Children's Fund of the Slovak Republic - Defence for Children International, Slovak Section
Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania (CRCA)
Children's Rights Alliance for England
Children's Rights Project, Community Law Centre, University of Western Cape, South Africa
Coalition Against Child Labour (CACL), Pakistan
Coalition Camerounaise des ONG pour les Droits de l'Enfant, Cameroon
Colectivo Mexicano de Apoyo a la Ninez, Mexico
Comisión Andina de Juristas, Peru
Coordinadora de Instituciones Privadas Pro los Ninos Ninas y sus Derechos (COIPRODEN), Honduras
CRAF - Child Rights Advocacy Foundation, India
CRY - Coalition on Rights and Responsibilities of Youth, Pakistan
Czech Society for Child Protection, Czech Republic
Défense des Enfants International - Section Suisse, Switzerland
Defence for Children International - Angola
Ditshwanelo - The Botswana Centre for Human Rights
Early Childhood Professional Association of Alberta, Canada
Education Rights Project/Education Policy Unit, Witwatersrand University, South Africa
El Centro de Desarrollo e Investigacin de la Selva Alta CEDISA, Peru
Enfants Solidaires d'Afrique et du Monde (ESAM), Benin
End Physical Punishment of Children (EPOCH) - New Zealand
End Physical Punishment of Children (EPOCH) - USA
Free the Kids!, USA
Fundación PIDEE, Chile
Grupo de Iniciativa National por los Derechos del Nino (GIN), Peru
Halley Movement, Mauritius
Help & Shelter, Guyana
Hong Kong Committee on Children's Rights
Human Rights-First the Child, Bangladesh
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Sydney, Australia
Human Rights Without Borders, Chad
Humanistic Education Foundation, Taiwan
Hutt Rape Counselling Network, New Zealand
Independent Board of Advisors of the Parliament of Georgia
Information and Research Centre for Children's Rights in Albania
Institute of Humanistic Science, USA
IPPA, The Early Childhood Organisation, Ireland
Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC), Ireland
Korea Welfare Foundation
LACRI - Laboratory of Child Studies, Brazil
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights, Austria
Macedonian National Child Rights Coalition
MANITHAM – Promoting Human Rights & Protecting Environment, India
Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, Finland
Massachusetts Citizens for Children, USA
Molo Songololo, South Africa
National Association of School Psychologists, USA
National Children's Rights Committee, South Africa
National Coalition to Abolish Corporal Punishment in Schools, USA
National Council for the Child, Israel
National Education Association, USA
National Task Force for Children, Jordan
NCH Grenada
NCCR (NGOs Coalition on Child Rights), Pakistan
New Zealand Human Rights Commission
NGO Coalition on the CRC, The Gambia
NGO Coalition on the Rights of the Child, Lesotho
Nobody's Children Foundation, Poland
NOPCAN (National Organization for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect), Belize
Pakistan Council on Family Relations
Paredos – Parent Education for Development in Barbados
Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education (PTAVE), USA
People Opposed to Paddling Students (POPS), USA
Plattelandse Ontwikkeling Iniasitief, South Africa
Polish Forum for Child’s Rights
Promundo Institute, Brazil
Raising Voices, Uganda
RAPCAN - Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, South Africa
Red por los Derechos de la Infancia en Mexico
Red Thread, Guyana
Repeal 43 Committee, Canada
Réseau Nigérien pour l'Enfance (RENE), Niger
Sarangbang Group for Human Rights, Korea
Save the Children Latvia
Save the Children Romania
Save the Children Spain
Save the Children Sweden
Save the Children Swaziland
Save the Children UK
Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights
Servicios y Acciones por la Infancia (SAI) Progama ARCOIRIS, Uruguay
Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), Pakistan
Sri Saddhattissa International Buddhist Centre, United Kingdom
The Promota Africa, United Kingdom
Trinidad and Tobago Coalition for the Rights of the Child
Uganda Girl Guides Association, Uganda
World Peace Movement Trust (India)
YMCA of Trinidad and Tobago
Youth Human Rights Group, Kyrgyzstan
Youth Law - Tino Rangatiratanga Taitamariki, New Zealand
Yugoslav Child Rights Centre
Zambia Civic Education Association
Zambian Human Rights Commission
To find out how to become a supporting organisation of the Global Initiative, or to get further information, contact us.