Summary of law reform necessary to achieve full prohibition

Prohibition is still to be achieved in the home, schools, penal system and alternative care settings.

Article 106 of the Family Code confirms the power of parents and those to whom parental authority is delegated “to admonish [children] excluding abuse and torture”. This provision should be repealed/amended to ensure that there is no legal defence for the use of corporal punishment in childrearing and education. Explicit prohibition should be enacted of all corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment, in the home and all other settings where adults have authority over children.

Explicit prohibition should be enacted in legislation and applicable to all education settings (public and private). All judicial corporal punishment should be prohibited, including under Shari’a law and in traditional customary justice systems. Explicit prohibition of corporal punishment should be enacted in relation to disciplinary measures in all institutions accommodating children in conflict with the law and in all alternative care settings, including public and private day care, residential institutions, foster care, etc.

Current legality of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment is lawful in the home. According to the provisions on parental authority in the Family Code 2005, parents and those to whom parental authority is delegated have the power “to admonish excluding abuse and torture” (“Leur pouvoir consiste à le sermonner en excluant les sévices et la torture”) (article 106). Articles 297 and 298 of the Penal Code 1982 punish violence against children with the exception of “minor” violence; minor violence is punished under article 12(7) of Law No. 81/007 (the Code des contraventions 1981) but there is no indication that this would apply to physical punishment of children by parents. Provisions against violence and abuse in the Family Code, the Child Protection Code 2005 and the Constitution 2001 (amended 2009), which asserts the child’s right to protection from all forms of violence, are not interpreted as prohibiting all corporal punishment in childrearing.

The Government accepted a recommendation to prohibit corporal punishment in the home and schools made during the Universal Periodic Review in 2009 (3 June 2009, A/HRC/12/16, Report of the working group, paras. 65(31) and 66(2)). However, there appear to have been no moves towards law reform.

Schools

There is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in schools.

Penal system

Corporal punishment as a sentence for crime is unlawful: there is no provision for judicial corporal punishment in the Penal Code and the Child Protection Code. We have yet to confirm that corporal punishment cannot be imposed under Shari’a law or in traditional community justice systems.

There is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions.

Alternative care

Corporal punishment is lawful in alternative care settings under article 106 of the Family Code (see above).

Prevalence research

None identified.

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

“Concern is expressed at the insufficient awareness regarding the harmful consequences of ill-treatment and abuse of children, including sexual abuse, both within and outside the family. While aware that the draft family code aims at the protection of the dignity of the child, the Committee is concerned that the practice of corporal punishment in the home is socially and legally accepted, particularly for boys. The practice of corporal punishment in Koranic schools is also a matter of concern.

“The Committee recommends that the State party take effective measures, to prevent and combat child abuse and ill-treatment of children within the family, at school and in other institutions, and in society at large. Furthermore, educational programmes should be established to combat traditional attitudes in society regarding this issue. In particular, the Committee recommends that the State party include in its legislation a specific prohibition on the use of corporal punishment within the family and at school. The Committee encourages the State party to consider seeking to this effect international cooperation from, inter alia, UNICEF and international non-governmental organizations.”
(23 October 2000, CRC/C/15/Add.141, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 31 and 32)

Universal Periodic Review

Comoros was examined in the first cycle of the Universal Periodic Review in 2009 (session 5). The following recommendation was made and was accepted by the Government (3 June 2009, A/HRC/12/16, Report of the working group, paras. 65(31)):

“Consider enacting legislation which prohibits the use of corporal punishment on children within the family and at school and promotes alternative forms of discipline (Brazil); take concrete measures by law to prevent and combat child abuse and ill-treatment of children within the family, at school, in other institutions and in society at large and to officially prohibit by law the use of corporal punishment within the family and at school (Germany)”

Examination in the second cycle is scheduled for 2014.