The Committee on the Rights of the Child made recommendations on corporal punishment of children to all states examined during the 82^nd session:

• For Australia, the Committee recalled their previous recommendation to explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in law in all settings and to repeal the legal defence of “reasonable chastisement”. It also recommended that awareness-raising and education campaigns be developed to promote positive and alternative forms of discipline.
• The Committee highlighted the importance of Bosnia and Herzegovina explicitly prohibiting corporal punishment in all settings in law as well as conducting awareness-raising campaigns among parents and the general public on the harmful effects of corporal punishment for children. The Committee also asked for the collection of data on all cases of corporal punishment.
• To Mozambique, the Committee noted with concern the prevalence of corporal punishment and the application of legal defences used to justify such forms of discipline. It asked for urgent measures to be taken on the issue, recommending that the State prioritise an explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in all settings and repeal all legal defences.
• The Committee raised concerns at the continuing legality of corporal punishment in the Republic of Korea and asked for urgent measures to be taken on the issue. It recommended the explicit prohibition of all corporal punishment in all settings and all territories, including the use of “indirect” corporal punishment.
• To Portugal, which enacted a ban in 2007, the Committee recommended  that it ensure complete prohibition of corporal punishment in all settings, strengthen awareness-raising on the issue and build the capacities of professionals that work with and for children on positive, non-violent forms of child-rearing.

Further information

• For more information on each of these states, see our detailed reports for Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mozambique, Portugal and Republic of Korea.
• For further information on the obligation to prohibit corporal punishment under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and to see the Committee’s recommendations in full, see the Global Initiative’s page on the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• For information on how you can support the campaign to protect all children from corporal punishment, visit our Get involved page.