Date: October 2008

Latest recommendations from the Committee on the Rights of the Child

Bhutan, Djibouti and the UK must enact laws to prohibit corporal punishment in all settings, including the home. This was the strong and consistent message from the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its recommendations following examination of these states’ implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child at the Committee’s 49^th session, 15 September to 3 October. Governments in these states should also carry out public awareness-raising and education campaigns to inform professionals and parents about positive, non-violent methods of childrearing.

Addressing the government of Bhutan, the Committee expressed concern at the legality of corporal punishment in the home, schools and alternative care settings, including monasteries. The Committee welcomed the ban on corporal punishment in schools in Djibouti, but expressed concern that children are still subjected to it, especially in the home.

To the UK, the Committee expressed regret that its previous recommendations had not been fully implemented. In particular, it regretted that legislation in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland had been amended to restrict the application of the “reasonable chastisement” defence rather than to abolish it altogether. The Committee emphasised that “the existence of any defence in cases of corporal punishment of children does not comply with the principles and provisions of the Convention, since it would suggest that some forms of corporal punishment are acceptable” (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4 , para. 40). The Committee also recommended that the UK abolish the use of physical restraint for disciplinary purposes against children in detention.

The Committee’s recommendations relating to corporal punishment are available here and are included in the individual state reports for Bhutan, Djibouti and the UK.

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