Earlier this year, the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child adopted the General Comment No. 5 (2018) on “State Party Obligations under the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (Article 1) and systems strengthening for child protection”. The General Comment lays out what obligations state parties […]
Over the past few months, the Global Initiative has worked with Mexico’s national child protection system, Sistema Nacional de Protección de Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes (SIPINNA) to improve child protection and reduce violence against children in Mexico by advancing the prohibition and elimination of corporal punishment in all settings. Back in 2011, the Mexican Government adopted […]
The Committee finished its 79th session in early October 2018 and issued recommendations to prohibit all corporal punishment to all of the states examined: To El Salvador, the Committee expressed concern that corporal punishment was still lawfully and culturally justified. It recommended that a law prohibiting corporal punishment in all settings is adopted and that the […]
At its 20th session in August-September 2018, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities issued recommendations on corporal punishment: In line with the submissions of the Global Initiative and of the South African Human Rights Commission, as well as Target 16.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee recommended to South Africa that […]
The Human Rights Council adopted final working group reports during its 39th session in September 2018, which included states’ formal responses to recommendations extended at the Universal Periodic Review’s 30th session. States can either ‘support’ (accept) or ‘note’ UPR recommendations. Azerbaijan had already supported recommendations to enact prohibition of corporal punishment; it supported a further […]
In September 2018, Nepal adopted the Act relating to Children 2018 which explicitly prohibits corporal punishment of children in all settings. It was certified by the President of Nepal on 18 September 2018 and has now come into effect. Section 7(5) of the Act states (unofficial translation): “Each child has a right to be protected […]
Our African newsletters are published quarterly in English and French, providing a round-up of recent developments, campaigns and positive moves towards ending corporal punishment from across the continent. This latest edition also presents new resources to support advocacy on the issue, as well as information from African and UN human rights monitoring bodies, including new […]
In July 2018, South Africa’s draft Children’s Third Amendment Bill was published and opened for comment by the Department of Social Development. The Bill proposes a number of amendments to the Children’s Act, including repealing the common law defence of reasonable chastisement that allows parents and carers to lawfully subject children to corporal punishment. The […]
On 28 August 2018, the Thai edition of our series of booklets answering common questions about prohibiting all corporal punishment, published with Save the Children Sweden, were launched by Save the Children Thailand at a national forum “Talk for Change”. The forum provided a platform for children to have their say about physical punishment at […]