Date: October 2006

Committee on the Rights of the Child recommends prohibition of all corporal punishment following 43^rd session

In September 2006, the Committee on the Rights of the Child held its 43^rd session, in Geneva, where it examined the state party reports of Benin, Ethiopia, Ireland, Jordan, Kiribati, Oman, Republic of Congo, Samoa, Senegal and Swaziland. For Kiribati, Republic of Congo, Samoa and Swaziland, this was the first time they had been examined by the Committee. In all cases the Committee reiterated its strong condemnation of corporal punishment of children.

In its concluding observations to all states, the Committee recommended that corporal punishment be prohibited in law – including corporal punishment within the family home – and that this legal reform be accompanied by public education and awareness raising on the harmful effects of corporal punishment and the promotion of positive, non-violent, participatory approaches to childrearing and education.

The Committee consistently referred to its General Comment No. 8 on “The Right of the Child to Protection from Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or Degrading Forms of Punishment”, published in June this year, and also situated its recommendations concerning violence against children within the context of the current UN Secretary General’s Study on Violence against Children.

Extracts from the concluding observations concerning corporal punishment are available here.

A summary of the new General Comment on the Right of the Child to Protection from Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or Degrading Forms of Punishment (2006) is available here.

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