Date: June 2008

States called to account concerning corporal punishment of children in Universal Periodic Review process

Progress towards prohibiting all corporal punishment of children was a prominent focus of concern in the examination of states’ overall records of implementing their human rights obligations during the first two Universal Periodic Review sessions of the Human Rights Council.

The legality of corporal punishment was discussed during examination of Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Benin, France, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Romania, South Africa, Switzerland, Tonga and the UK. Specific recommendations to explicitly prohibit all corporal punishment of children were made to Argentina, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Japan, Mali, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Switzerland and the UK. (Corporal punishment is already prohibited in all settings in Netherlands and Romania.)

All documents relating to the examination of these states, including the final reports of the working group, are available on the UPR search page.

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