Summary of law reform necessary to achieve full prohibition

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

Article 347 of the Civil Code confirms parents’ “right of correction”. This provision should be repealed and explicit prohibition should be enacted of all corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment, in the home and all other settings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), as well as repeal of any laws specifically authorising or regulating corporal punishment in schools. Explicit prohibition should also be enacted in legislation relating 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. Parents have a “right of correction” under article 347 of the Civil Code (1988). Provisions against violence and abuse in the Penal Code (1977), Law No. 27 Relating to Rights and Protection of the Child Against Violence and the Constitution (2003) are not interpreted as prohibiting all corporal punishment in childrearing.

As at May 2010, a draft Penal Code is under discussion. Article 5 punishes the causing of suffering to a child but includes in this only “disproportional” punishment, inhumane or degrading treatment. A draft Child Act is also being considered. Article 3 includes “all kinds of corporal punishment, inhuman or degrading treatment” in its definition of violence and domestic mistreatment; article 23 states that domestic discipline must be administered with humanity and dignity, “without traumatizing the child”; article 25 provides for the promoting of positive, non-violent discipline in the family; and article 72 punishes “any intended administration of blow to a child”. We have yet to confirm that the draft Act would repeal the “right of correction” in the Civil Code.

Schools

Corporal punishment is lawful in schools, though we have no details of applicable law. It appears that it would be prohibited under article 72 of the draft Child Act.

Penal system

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime under the Penal Code, the Code of Penal Procedure, the Constitution and Law No. 27 Relating to Rights and Protection of the Child Against Violence.  There is no provision for judicial corporal punishment in the draft Penal Code or the draft Child Act.

There is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions. It would presumably be unlawful under article 72 of the draft Child Act but we have yet to confirm this.

Alternative care

There is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in alternative care settings. The provisions on domestic discipline in the draft Child Act (see above) would presumably cover such settings but we have yet to confirm this.

Prevalence research

None identified.

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

“The Committee notes that the Rwandan legislation does not include an explicit prohibition of corporal punishment and is concerned at the persistent practice of corporal punishment by parents, teachers and law enforcement officers.

“The Committee recommends that the State party:

1. introduce legislation explicitly prohibiting corporal punishment;
2. make use of information and education campaigns to sensitize parents, teachers, other professionals working with children and the public at large to the harm caused by corporal punishment and promote alternative, non-violent forms of discipline, as foreseen in article 28, paragraph 2, of the Convention;
3. investigate in an effective way reported cases of ill-treatment of children by law enforcement officers and ensure that appropriate legal action is taken against alleged offenders; and
4. provide for the care, recovery and rehabilitation of child victims, in the light of article 39 of the Convention.”

(1 July 2004, CRC/C/15/Add.234, Concluding observations on second report, paras. 34 and 35)