The Global Initiative has produced a new briefing for the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which is taking place in New York on 11-20 July 2016, under the auspices of the UN General Assembly and ECOSOC. The Forum is the UN’s central platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The theme of the Forum, the first to be held since the adoption of the Agenda and Goals, is “Ensuring that no one is left behind”.

The briefing emphasies that ending violent punishment of children is fundamental to creating the “world free of fear and violence … of universal respect for human rights and human dignity” envisaged by the 2030 Agenda, and highlights the recognition of the importance of the issue signalled by the adoption of SDG target on 16.2 on ending violence against children and indicator 16.2.1 on the prevalence of violent punishment. At the Forum, 22 states will undergo voluntary national reviews of progress on the SDGs. For each of the states, the briefing sets out the law reform that is necessary in order to achieve prohibition of corporal punishment in all settings and the latest information on the prevalence of corporal punishment.

Download the briefing here.