Date: October 2002

Special Rapporteur condemns corporal punishment in report to UN General Assembly

The Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on torture, Mr Theo van Boven, in a report submitted to the United Nations General Assembly in July 2002, states that he believes "that any form of corporal punishment of children is contrary to the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".

The Special Rapporteur "therefore calls upon States to take adequate measures, in particular legal and educational ones, to ensure that the right to physical and mental integrity of children is well protected in the public as in the private spheres. He would also welcome information from governmental and non-governmental sources on measures taken to eradicate the practice of corporal punishment against children."

Mr van Boven draws attention to the condemnation of all corporal punishment by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and by other Treaty Bodies. Click here for the full text of his report.

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