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[21 October 2008] - The last 12 months have seen rapid progress towards prohibiting corporal punishment in countries across the world. The Global Report 2008, published in October by the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children and Save the Children Sweden, documents this progress, which has seen the total number of states achieving full prohibition grow to 23, including the first Latin American states (Uruguay, Venezuela and Costa Rica) and the first English speaking state (New Zealand). More states have made firm commitments to law reform, with 17 governments publicly committing themselves to prohibition and law reform under way in at least a further seven. 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. Writing in the introduction, Professor Yanghee Lee, Chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, states: “The Committee on the Rights of the Child has consistently and clearly interpreted the Convention [on the Rights of the Child] as requiring the prohibition and elimination of all corporal punishment of children, since it started to examine States’ reports in 1993. Our General Comment No.8, released in 2006, consolidates this .... “We are now approaching the 20th anniversary of adoption by the United Nations of the Convention: this should surely accelerate the movement towards achieving universal prohibition and an end to the social acceptance of violent or humiliating punishment of children.” National campaigns in nearly all regions – including Latin America, North America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa – are covered in the report, together with the Council of Europe’s region-wide campaign to make Europe a “corporal punishment-free zone”, and other international campaigns. There is also information on useful resources to support law reform and on building faith-based support for prohibition, making the report both a snapshot of progress to date and an inspiration and resource for those just beginning the process. For further information, contact [email protected]. Also by the Global Initiative: For more, visit here
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