The Global Initiative has confirmed that the 2016 Law amending the Civil Code in Aruba modified article 1:247 to include (unofficial translation):

In the care and upbringing of the child, there is no neglect and the parents do not apply mental or physical violence or any other degrading treatment”

The new provisions mirror those in the Civil Code in the Netherlands (Europe), where prohibition in all settings was achieved in 2007. Aruba is a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Bill amending the Civil Code had been tabled in 2015 and was passed by the Parliament on 23 September 2016. With these amendments, Aruba became the seventh territory worldwide to prohibit corporal punishment of children in all settings, including the home.

Corporal punishment of children is not fully prohibited throughout the Kingdom of the Netherlands: it is still lawful in some settings in the Caribbean Special Municipalities of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius.

Further information

• The Global Initiative’s territory report on Aruba
• The latest facts and figures on global progress towards prohibition