Recommendations on Law Reform against Corporal Punishment

Submitted by crinadmin on

Summary: The following is a list of recommendations on legal reform for corporal punishment that came out of the nine regional consultations for the UN Study.

UN SECRETARY GENERAL’S STUDY ON VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN: RECOMMENDATIONS ON LAW REFORM AGAINST ALL CORPORAL PUNISHMENT FROM REGIONAL CONSULTATIONS

 

Caribbean 

Port of Spain, Trinidad March 9 - 11 2005

Recommendation on legal frameworks:

“Support Parliaments and all other relevant bodies in securing consistency in legislation and compliance with all applicable international standards for the prevention of and the response to violence against children. This should include the explicit prohibition in the law of all forms of violence against children, including corporal punishment.”

 

South Asia

Islamabad, Pakistan, May 16 - 20 2005

Recommendations adopted include: “Developing specific and clear laws which urgently, explicitly prohibit all violence against children (VAC) including physical and psychological punishment in the family and other settings; repeal any existing defences that can be used to justify physical and psychological punishment; harmonisation of national laws on VAC with CRC; establish national protection services that are child friendly and mechanisms to enforce and implement legislation.


 

West and Central Africa 

Bamako, Mali, May 23 - 25 2005

The recommendations adopted contain one general provision on legislation calling for a “clear prohibition of corporal punishment, as well as all forms of violence in the family, in national legislations”.


 

Latin America

Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 30 - June 1 2005

The Buenos Aires Declaration on Violence against Children and Adolescents” states:

“We, Ministers and Senior National and International Authorities on Human Rights, have gathered in Buenos Aires for the Latin American Consultation within the framework of the United Nations General Secretary’s Study on Violence against Children and Adolescents, taking into consideration the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international human rights instruments, as well as the principles that guide them, to proclaim the present Declaration:

… “5. Parents, teachers and other people interacting with children must refrain from using physical or psychological punishment as a disciplinary method or for any other purpose. This type of punishment must be banned by law and an end to these practices must be promoted.”

 

North America 

Toronto, Canada, June 3 2005

Roundtables on “Home and Family” and “Child Welfare Legislation” produced clear recommendations for law reform to prohibit all corporal punishment.

 

East Asia and Pacific

Bangkok, Thailand, June 14 - 16 2005

The first recommendation listed by children and young people following their consultation was: “We believe that corporal punishment must be banned – in the home, schools and the justice system. Children should be treated the same as adults, with respect, dignity and fairness”.

There were clear recommendations for law reform and other action to end all corporal punishment from the various Consultation working groups, including on home and family.

 

Middle East and North Africa

Cairo, June 27 - 29 2005

The “Cairo Declaration” from participants in the MENA consultation includes a commitment “to ensure protection of children from corporal punishment and explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in all settings including in the family; schools and other institutions”.
 
 

Europe and Central Asia

Ljubljana, Slovenia, July 5 - 7 2005

The Ljubljana Conclusions, adopted by the Consultation, state:

 “… 2. Ratify relevant international treaties, enact, amend or repeal all domestic legislation as necessary in order to prohibit all forms of violence against children including corporal punishment and humiliating treatment, and take all necessary measures to prevent and sanction such offences against children; also pay special attention to the development of juvenile justice procedures to prevent violence against children in all stages of the process;…”

 

East and Southern Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa,  July 18 – 20 2005

The report of the Regional Consultation opens with a summary of cross-cutting and emerging issues, including: “There was wide recognition that corporal punishment is wrong, is violence against children, a violation of child rights and that it should be banned in all settings, including in the home.” 

Working groups on legislation concluded: “All countries are urged to enact domestic legislation to prohibit all corporal punishment, including in the family, in order to comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

“Where corporal punishment is expressly banned, there should be prosecutorial guidelines so that the legislation is not used to prosecute parents except when this is necessary to protect a child and it is in the best interests of the child. The implementation of such domestic legislation should be supported by sensitising and training parents and guardians in positive and effective alternatives to violence.”

Organisation: 
Outcomes from Regional Consultations

Countries

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.