Summary of law reform necessary to achieve full prohibition

Corporal punishment is prohibited in all settings, including the home.

Current legality of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment is prohibited in the home. Article 53 of the Law on the Protection of the Child (2010) states that corporal punishment may not be used to discipline or correct a child (“Il est interdit de recourir aux châtiments corporels pour discipliner ou corriger l’enfant.”) This explicitly prohibits all corporal punishment of children in all settings, including the home. Article 107 states that persons who inflict cruel inhuman or degrading punishment on children are liable to the penalties in the penal code. Article 130 states that international conventions ratified by the Republic of Congo on the rights of the child are an integral part of this law; article 131 repeals all previous laws in conflict with the new law.

Schools

Corporal punishment is prohibited in schools under article 53 of the Law on the Protection of the Child (see above).

Penal system

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime. Children convicted of an offence are covered by Title IX (articles 685-738) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (1963). Persons under the age of 18 years should be dealt with by juvenile courts where they may be subject to measures of care, protection and education (article 685); persons aged over 13 years may also be subject to penal sanctions including fines and imprisonment. Article 16 of the Constitution prohibits torture and any cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

Corporal punishment is prohibited as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions in article 53 of the Law on the Protection of the Child (see above).

Alternative care

Corporal punishment is prohibited in alternative care settings under article 53 of the Law on the Protection of the Child (see above).

Prevalence research

None identified.

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

“The Committee is concerned at the absence of an explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in the home, alternative care settings and penal institutions.

“The Committee urges the State party to:

1. explicitly prohibit all forms of corporal punishment in the family, penal system and other institutional settings and alternative care systems as a matter of priority;
2. sensitize and educate parents, guardians and professionals working with and for children by carrying out public educational campaigns about the harmful impact of corporal punishment;
3. promote positive, non-violent forms of discipline as an alternative to corporal punishment;
4. implement appropriate policies and programmes for the prevention, recovery and reintegration of child victims; and
5. provide children with child sensitive mechanisms to lodge complaints in case they are victims of violence, including corporal punishment.

“In this respect, the Committee draws the attention of the State party on its general comment No. 8 (2006) on the right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment.”
(20 October 2006, CRC/C/COG/CO/1, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 37, 38 and 39)

Universal Periodic Review

The Republic of Congo was examined under the Universal Periodic Review process in 2009. No recommendations were made concerning corporal punishment of children. Examination in the second cycle is scheduled for 2013.