At its 81^st session in October - November 2024, the Committee against Torture issued recommendations and observations on the prohibition and elimination of corporal punishment of children to Jordan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Namibia and Thailand.

The Committee against Torture recommended that Jordan, Kuwait and Thailand explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in all settings- including in the home, and effectively enforce the prohibition through awareness raising campaigns for adults.

To Namibia, the Committee recommended that the State party enact a legislation which explicitly bans the use of corporal punishment by parents:

“While welcoming the proscription of all of forms of corporal punishment in both public and private schools, the Committee is concerned about the lack of an explicit prohibition of corporal punishment of children in the home, however light, and its continued acceptance in other settings. While noting the information provided by the State party that such a prohibition is included in section 228 (1) of the Child Care and Protection Act, which obliges persons with parental responsibility to respect the child’s constitutional right to dignity, the Committee underlines the important deterrent and educational effect of an explicit prohibition of the use of corporal punishment by parents against their children (arts. 2 and 16).

“The Committee recommends that the State party ban corporal punishment in the home in the national legislation and conduct awareness-raising and educational campaigns for the general public to inform them of the prohibition of corporal punishment against children and its consequences.”

(18 November 2024, CAT/C/NAM/CO/3 Advance Unedited Version, Concluding observations on third report, paras. 34 and 35)

Mongolia achieved full prohibition of corporal punishment in 2016. The Committee against Torture recommended that the Government take measures to prevent corporal punishment, as follows:

“While welcoming the significant legislative steps taken by the State party to prohibit and combat corporal punishment of children in all settings, the Committee is concerned at the reports documenting a high rate of violent disciplinary practices against children that persist in the country (art. 16).

“The State party should take all necessary measures to prevent corporal punishment of children, including by ensuring that these acts are investigated, perpetrators brought to justice and victims granted redress, and redouble its efforts to conduct awareness-raising and educational campaigns for the general public to inform them of the prohibition of the use of corporal punishment against children and its consequences.”

(20 November 2024, CAT/C/MNG/CO/3 Advance unedited Version, Concluding observations on third report, paras. 43 and 44)

Find out more about the recommendations in our individual country report for Jordan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Namibia and Thailand.

Further information

• Access more information about the 81^st session of the Committee against Torture here.
• Find out what the Convention against Torture says about corporal punishment.