The Committee examined the state party reports of Argentina, Belgium, Grenada, Japan, Macedonia, Nigeria and Tunisia, and made recommendations in all cases to prohibit corporal punishment of children in all settings. The Committee expressed concern about legal defences for corporal punishment by parents in Argentina and Tunisia and about judicial corporal punishment in Grenada and under Sharia law in Nigeria. In most states – Belgium, Grenada, Japan, Nigeria and Tunisia – the Committee drew attention to the inadequate attention given to its previous recommendations concerning corporal punishment and again urged states to take the recommended action.

The Committee’s recommendations relating to corporal punishment are available here and are included in the individual state reports for Argentina, Belgium, Grenada, Japan, Macedonia, Nigeria and Tunisia.

Read the committee's recommendations...

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Download Issue 12 (May 2010)

Article 3(1) of the Children and Youth Act 2008 (in force 2009) states (unofficial translation): “Children and young people have the rights outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and to ... (b) education/upbringing without violence: corporal punishment, psychological harm and other degrading treatment are not accepted....”

The number of countries worldwide which have achieved full prohibition is now 26, including 21 Council of Europe member states.

For further information, see "Countdown to prohibition", "States prohibiting", and the detailed country report on Liechtenstein.

More information at www.endcorporalpunishment.org

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Download Issue 11 (March 2010)

The Committee examined the state party reports of El Salvador, Ecuador, Cameroon, Tajikistan, Paraguay, Mongolia, Burkina Faso and Norway. With the exception of Norway, which achieved full prohibition in 1987, the Committee made strong recommendations to all states to prohibit corporal punishment of children in all settings, including within the family home. The Committee repeatedly reminded states that the UN Study on Violence against Children had recommended prohibition of all forms of violence, including corporal punishment. To Mongolia, where proposals have been made to include prohibition in the current revision of the Family Law, the Committee recommended that the Government pass the proposed amendments.

Read the committee's recommendations...

Download the 2009 Global Report here (PDF)

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Download Issue 10 (December 2009)

Penal law in Luxembourg does not include a legal defence for the use of corporal punishment in childrearing, which means that provisions against assault in the Penal Code apply to children as to adults. During debate on the bill, it was argued that corporal punishment was already prohibited under the Penal Code. However, referring to the Council of Europe’s recommendation on prohibition of corporal punishment, MPs in parliament decided that it was necessary to confirm in the new law that corporal punishment of children within families is unlawful.
This brings the total number of countries worldwide which have achieved full prohibition to 25, including 20 Council of Europe member states.

For further information, see "Countdown to prohibition", "States prohibiting", and the detailed country report on Luxembourg on the Global Initiative website.

Council of Europe recommendation 1666 (2004), Europe-wide ban on corporal punishment of children is available here. Information on the campaign to achieve prohibition in all 47 member states can be found here.

More information at www.endcorporalpunishment.org

After examining implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Bolivia, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Philippines and Qatar, the Committee made strong recommendations to states parties for comprehensive law reform to prohibit all corporal punishment of children.

To Bolivia, Mozambique and the Philippines, the Committee drew attention to the insufficient progress since its previous recommendations concerning corporal punishment. Law reform is currently under way in the Philippines and the Committee urged the speedy adoption of the Anti-Corporal Punishment Bill, which would achieve prohibition in all settings. The Committee expressed concern that in Mozambique and Bolivia, recently enacted laws do not prohibit all corporal punishment of children and urged the governments of these states to enact explicit prohibition in all settings. The Committee paid particular attention to the dual legal system of positive law and indigenous customary law in Bolivia, stressing that corporal punishment should be prohibited under both systems.

Noting the commitment of Pakistan to prohibition, the Committee recommended repeal of the legal defence for the use of corporal punishment (section 89 of the Penal Code) and enactment of prohibition as a matter of urgency. With regard to Qatar, the Committee noted that measures are being taken to address the problem of corporal punishment and urged the state party to take into account the Committee’s General Comment No. 8 while drafting new legislation.

Read the committee's recommendations...

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Download Issue 9 (September 2009)

The booklet can be downloaded here in English, French and Spanish.

It is also available in a child-friendly version: English, French, Spanish.

Hard copies are also available – email info@endcorporalpunishment.org.

Its new 44-page thematic report – Report on Corporal Punishment and Human Rights of Children and Adolescents – was prepared by the office of the Rapporteur on the Rights of the Child, Professor Paulo Pinheiro. It includes an analysis of state responsibility in the use of corporal punishment by private citizens and of corporal punishment in relation to those with parental authority. It makes detailed recommendations to member states concerning the actions they should take to achieve full prohibition of corporal punishment.

To date, three OAS member states have achieved law reform to prohibit all corporal punishment – Costa Rica (2008), Uruguay (2007) and Venezuela (2007) – and draft legislation is under discussion in some others.

The report is available in English and Spanish.

The handbook provides examples of laws which give children the same protection from assault that adults enjoy, including the removal of legal defences relating to “reasonable chastisement/correction” by parents and the repeal of laws authorising corporal punishment in schools and as a sentence of the courts. It also gives guidance on non-legislative measures to support full prohibition.
The handbooks are available as pdfs here:

Interdire les châtiments corporels à l’encontre des enfants: Guide des réformes juridiques et autres mesures

Prohibir el castigo corporal de los niños: Guía sobre la reforma legal y otras medidas

Prohibiting corporal punishment of children: A guide to legal reform and other measures

Download these briefings from www.endcorporalpunishment.org now...

The Committee examined implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Bangladesh, France, Mauritania and Niger, and recommended explicit prohibition of corporal punishment by law in all settings, including the home.

Romania and Sweden, which have already achieved law reform to prohibit all corporal punishment, were also examined by the Committee. To Romania, the Committee recommended intensified aware-raising and public education campaigns in light of the high prevalence of corporal punishment revealed in research prior to law reform. The Committee recommended that Sweden continue the promotion of positive, non-violent forms of discipline to ensure that children are protected from all abuse within the family.

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Download Issue 8 (June 2009)

When the issue of prohibiting corporal punishment is raised, questions typically arise concerning what prohibition will mean for parents and family life. This new booklet provides answers to the most common questions and dispels misconceptions about the reasons for prohibition and what its impact on families on would be.

A child-friendly version is also available, and the FAQs section of the Global Initiative website has been revised and updated.

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Download Issue 7 (March 2009)

In December 2008 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights formally asked the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to issue an advisory opinion on whether corporal punishment of children is compatible with various articles in the American Convention on Human Rights and the American Declaration of Human Rights and Duties.

Referring to articles 1 (non-discrimination), 2 (obligation to adapt domestic law to the American Convention), 5 (right to humane treatment) and 19 (rights of the child) of the American Convention and article VII (right to protection for mothers and children) of the American Declaration, the Commission asked the Court whether these provisions, in light of the best interests of the child, oblige OAS Member States (1) to “regulate paternal authority and protection in such a way as to protect children against all forms of corporal punishment”; and (2) to “adopt legislative and other measures for the purpose of ensuring that children are not subjected to corporal punishment as a method of discipline within the family, at school or in institutions”.

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The new article 53 of the Code covers “the right of the child to be protected” and states in paragraph 4 that the child “has the right to be protected against abuses, including corporal punishment by his parents or persons who replace them”. Article 62 concerns parents’ rights and states in paragraph 2 that “methods to educate children, chosen by parents, will exclude abusive behaviour, insults and ill-treatments of all types, discrimination, psychological and physical violence, corporal punishments [etc]”.

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Building on the advice given by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its General Comment No. 8 (2006) on the right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel of degrading forms of punishment, the handbook provides examples of legislation which would ensure that children are given the same protection from assault that adults enjoy, from the removal of legal defences relating to “reasonable chastisement/correction” by parents to the repeal of laws authorising corporal punishment in schools and as a sentence of the courts. It also gives guidance on non-legislative measures necessary to support full prohibition.

The revised handbook takes into account comments on the original version published last year, as well as recent experience gained through working with NGOs and others pursuing law reform in 2008.

Go to online resources to support the handbook.

Read the committee's recommendations...

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Download Issue 6 (January 2009)

The Committee notes that corporal punishment of children is not explicitly prohibited in all settings and that it is a common and accepted means of childrearing. (art. 16)

The State party, taking into account the recommendation in the United Nations Secretary General’s Study on Violence Against Children, should adopt and implement legislation prohibiting corporal punishment in all settings, including the family, supported by the necessary awareness-raising and public education measures.

The Committee made similar recommendations to Serbia (CAT/C/SRB/CO/1 Advance Unedited Version, Concluding observations on initial report, para. 20). The recommendation to prohibit all corporal punishment in the home in Belgium was made in the context of addressing domestic violence and violence against women and girls in the home (CAT/C/BEL/CO/2 Advance Unedited Version, Concluding observations on second report, para. 24).
The Committee welcomed the prohibition of corporal punishment of children in schools and in the judicial process in China (CAT/C/CHN/CO/4 Advance Unedited Version, Concluding observations on fourth report, para. 5).

Go to website.

Article 5(b) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women provides for "the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children, it being understood that the interest of the children is the primordial consideration in all cases" (our emphasis). The Committee’s General Recommendation No. 19 (1992) on Violence against women states that full implementation of the Convention requires States to eliminate all forms of violence against women (paragraph 4).

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Download Issue 5 (November 2008)

"laws allowing the definition of ‘justifiable assaults’ and ‘reasonable punishments’ on children are not compliant with international human rights standards. That children, uniquely, should have less protection under the criminal law from assault is additionally discriminatory and unimaginable, given children’s obvious special vulnerability."

The Commissioner also criticises the UK’s recent review of the law in England and Wales in which, he says, the Government “appears to have overlooked or dismissed the overwhelming response to the broad consultation which was in favour of banning physical punishment of children and for children to enjoy the same rights to protection as adults”. He notes that as long as corporal punishment remains lawful, the Government’s statement that it does not condone smacking “lacks credibility”.

Drawing attention to the recommendations to the UK to prohibit all corporal punishment by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child – the latter for the third time – the Commissioner recommends to the UK:

"that the ‘reasonable punishment’ defence should be removed completely by amendment to section 58 of the Children Act 2004 for England and Wales and to article 2 of The Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. He also recommends that section 51 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 should be reformed similarly to remove the concept of ‘justifiable assault’ of children and ensure that the criminal law applies equally to assaults on children."

Download: the full text of the Memorandum, together with the reply of the UK Government.

For the first time, the report includes information on national campaigns in nearly all regions, including Latin America, North America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It also covers the Council of Europe’s region-wide campaign to make Europe a “corporal punishment-free zone”, and other international campaigns.

The report provides an up to date overview of the obligation to prohibit under international human rights law, and includes a global table of states’ progress towards meeting this obligation.

Together with information on useful resources to support law reform and on building faith-based support for prohibition, the report is both a snapshot of progress to date and an inspiration and resource for those just beginning the process.

Download the 2008 Global Report

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Synthesizing the presentations made by the key speakers with the issues raised in discussion and the experiences brought to the workshop by the participants, the report includes sections on:

• the elements of legal reform and details of global progress to date
  how to get laws into and through parliament, with examples of the experiences in New Zealand, Costa Rica, the Philippines and Romania
• how to engage children in the law reform process, including examples from Venezuela, Kenya and South Africa
• progress in gaining faith-based support for prohibition
• implementation of prohibition in the home and other settings, with examples from Sweden, New Zealand, South Africa and Romania
• the use of legal action and regional and international human rights mechanisms
• national lobbying to promote prohibition and elimination of corporal punishment.

The report also includes answers to frequently asked questions about prohibition, an analysis of the legality of corporal punishment in all settings in all countries, a regional analysis of ratification of international and regional complaints/communications mechanisms, and information on useful resources.

Go to news item for further details.

Read the committee's recommendations...

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Download Issue 4 (September 2008)

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In the same month, the Human Rights Committee expressed concern at the legality of corporal punishment in schools in British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, and recommended that the UK government ensure explicit prohibition in relation to all schools.

The Committees' recommendations are included in the individual state reports for the UK and Slovakia.

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Corporal punishment contributes to children’s vulnerability to sexual exploitation in many ways. Sexual exploitation of children depends on seeing them as objects and possessions of adults. There can be no more potent symbol of this view of children as less than equal human beings than the continuing legality of corporal punishment. Prohibiting and eliminating corporal punishment of children is an important element in the fight against sexual exploitation.

Download the English language briefing here (PDF). The briefing will shortly be available in French, Spanish, Russian and Portuguese.

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The Committee recommended that Eritrea, Georgia, Serbia and Sierra Leone prohibit all corporal punishment in all settings, including in the family home.

To the government in Bulgaria, where corporal punishment has already been prohibited in all settings, the Committee focused on implementation of the prohibition, recommending that the state party enforce the ban by “a) undertaking public and professional awareness raising; b) promoting non-violent, positive, participatory methods of childrearing and education and reinforcing knowledge among children of their right to protection from all forms of corporal punishment; and c) bringing offenders before the competent administrative and judicial authorities” (para. 32).

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Download Issue 3 (June 2008)

The legality of corporal punishment was discussed during examination of Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Benin, France, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Romania, South Africa, Switzerland, Tonga and the UK. Specific recommendations to explicitly prohibit all corporal punishment of children were made to Argentina, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Japan, Mali, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Switzerland and the UK. (Corporal punishment is already prohibited in all settings in Netherlands and Romania.)

All documents relating to the examination of these states, including the final reports of the working group, are available on the UPR search page.

The Committee recommended that Australia, Algeria, Zambia, Macedonia, Indonesia and Costa Rica explicitly prohibit all corporal punishment of children.

Sweden and Iceland, which achieved prohibition in all settings in 1979 and 2003 respectively, were also examined by the Committee.

Costa Rica is already well on the way to meeting its obligations: legislation which would achieve prohibition has passed through the main parliamentary processes and only formalities remain before it becomes law.

The Committee’s recommendations relating to corporal punishment can be found in the individual state reports of the relevant countries.

More on this resolution and a link to the document...

Unreasonable Force: New Zealand’s Journey Towards Banning the Physical Punishment of Children, written by Beth Wood, Ian Hassall and George Hook with Robert Ludbrook, examines the 40 years of advocacy and debate which led to the repeal last year of section 59 of the Crimes Act.

The book identifies the factors that contributed to a climate in New Zealand where law reform was eventually possible, explores the roots of the old law on physical discipline in early Roman law and English common law, considers the role of religious convictions in the use of physical punishment and opposition to reform, examines the human rights imperative to give children equal protection from assault, and investigates the role of the media in the national debate. It also looks at what lies ahead now that legal prohibition is in place.

The book can be ordered using this order form (PDF).

The newsletter is sent automatically to supporters of the Global Initiative and others who have expressed an interest. If you would like to be added to the mailing list, please contact info@endcorporalpunishment.org.

Download Issue 2 (April 2008)