Date: October 2001

UN Secretary General acknowledges progress towards ending corporal punishment

A section on "freedom from violence" in the UN Secretary-General’s report We the Children: End-decade review of the follow-up to the World Summit for Children states: "In other efforts to protect the dignity and physical integrity of children, countries in Africa, Asia and Europe have adopted legislation or regulations outlawing corporal punishment. Information campaigns have been launched to promote change in behaviour patterns by caregivers and to prohibit its use in the school system and in institutions, as well as in the juvenile justice system".

Another section on law reform to promote children’s rights in the report notes an "increased legislative focus on the protection of children from violence, including within the family, and the prohibition of corporal punishment". (paras. 413 and 456, A/S-27/3)

The Report was due to be debated at the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children in September 2001 - now delayed until 2002.

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