The Committee on the Rights of the Child, at its 77^th session held in January 2018, examined eight states on their implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child:

• To Guatemala, the Committee expressed concern about the use of corporal punishment in care institutions and recommended that the Government expedite the adoption of the Bill No. 5184 on the Use of Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel Forms of Punishment as a Correctional or Disciplinary measure for Children and Adolescents, which would prohibit its use in all settings.
• To the Marshall Islands, the Committee highlighted corporal punishment of children as an area on which urgent measures must be taken; it recommended iexplicit prohibition in all settings and repeal of the defence for its use in the Criminal Code. The Government has previously committed to enacting prohibition, and a review their child protection legislation is due this year.
• To Palau, the Committee recommended prohibition of corporal punishment in all settings and that the Government undertake various measures to raise awareness on the issue and provide training on positive discipline.
• The Committee urged Panama to fulfil its previous UPR commitments to enact prohibition and recommended that it explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in all settings, raise awareness of its harmful effects and promote positive discipline. A comprehensive Bill on Children’s Rights is currently being drafted; it is not yet clear if corporal punishment of children will be addressed.
• To Seychelles, the Committee welcomed the recent prohibition of corporal punishment in schools, but highlighted that further urgent measures should be taken in relation to corporal punishment and recommended prohibition in all settings. During the dialogue with the Committee, the Government reiterated its commitment to prohibiting corporal punishment in all settings; it has also said discussions would take place in early 2018 between the Social Affairs department and the Attorney General’s office to take this forward.
• To the Solomon Islands, the Committee recommended prohibition in all settings and that the Government undertake awareness-raising campaigns and set up positive discipline training events.
• To Sri Lanka, the Committee requested urgent measures to be taken in relation to corporal punishment and recommended its immediate prohibition in all settings. The Government acknowledged that current legal protections against abuse were weakened by the existence of legal defences to the use of corporal punishment and reiterated its commitment to enacting prohibition, stating that the introduction of a law “to combat corporal punishment” was as a priority issue.

Spain prohibited all corporal punishment in 2007; the Committee recommended that the Government continue to raise awareness of the ban and the harmful effects of corporal punishment, and to ensure prohibition is adequately enforced and monitored.

For further details, see the Global Initiative’s individual country reports for Guatemala, Marshall Islands, Palau, Panama, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Spain and Sri Lanka.

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.