40 countries make first-ever joint statement on corporal punishment to the Human Rights Council

(Update: Mongolia has now signed on to the statement, bringing the total to 41 countries)

 

Ending corporal punishment – a human rights priority for children

Children have the fundamental right to be protected from all forms of violence. This right is essential for their well-being, safety, survival, and development, and recognises the severe and lasting consequences of violence against children, not just for the individual child but for society as a whole.

Corporal punishment – by far the most common and accepted form of violence against children - violates children’s right to respect for their human dignity and physical integrity, as well as their rights to health, development, education and freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It is recognised by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and other treaty bodies, and by the UN Secretary General’s Study on Violence against Children, as a highly significant issue both for asserting children’s status as rights holders and for the prevention of all forms of violence.

 

Marcela Coen Moraga, Minister Counsellor, presents the statement on corporal punishment to the Human Rights Council on behalf of the Costa Rican Government and 39 other countries on 12 March 2025

The ongoing legality of corporal punishment in most States worldwide violates children’s rights to equal protection as adults under the law on assault. Through their ratification of international human rights law, States have a clear and immediate obligation to prohibit by law all corporal punishment of children, including in the home, and to ensure it is eliminated in practice through awareness-raising, training, provision of support for families and other comprehensive measures.

 

First-ever joint statement on ending corporal punishment presented at Human Rights Council

On Wednesday 12 March 2025, during the 58th session of the Human Rights Council, 40 countries made a first-ever joint statement addressing children’s fundamental right to protection from all corporal punishment.

The statement made during the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence Against Children notes the wide-ranging harmful impacts of corporal punishment of children, and its ongoing high prevalence and legality around the world, despite over 20 years of international commitments and human rights recommendations calling for action to end the practice. The statement encourages all remaining states to prohibit and eliminate all corporal punishment of children in all settings.

The statement was led by the Governments of Costa Rica and Kenya and supported by 38 other States including Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, France, Japan, Mexico, Sierra Leone and South Africa. See the full list below.

 

The statement notes:

‘Almost twenty years ago, the UN Secretary General called for the universal prohibition of all corporal punishment. Multiple treaty bodies and regional mechanisms have also condemned it, recognizing it as a clear violation of children’s human rights. Yet, in over 125 States, corporal punishment remains legally permissible continuing to undermine the human rights, dignity and wellbeing of children.

 

And encourages States to take action:

‘In light of this overwhelming evidence, we wish to draw attention of this human rights issue and encourage States to take appropriate legislative reforms accompanied by other measures such as awareness-raising and educational initiatives to prohibit and eliminate all corporal punishment of children in all settings.

‘We call upon States to also promote non-violent forms of discipline that will uphold children’s dignity, physical integrity, and equal protection under the law.

 

This joint statement follows the first ever statement on corporal punishment presented to the World Health Assembly Executive Board by the Government of Kenya and eleven other States on 7 February 2025.

The Governments of Costa Rica and Kenya, in partnership with fellow champion member States will continue their advocacy to end corporal punishment of children by organising a side event focused on the technical and political effort to afford children the same protection from assault as adults at the upcoming World Health Assembly in May, where it is expected that a new WHO technical report on corporal punishment will be launched.

 

 

 

The full list of States signing the Joint Statement on the prohibition of corporal punishment against children:

1. Armenia
2. Austria
3. Brazil
4. Bulgaria
5. Cambodia
6. Colombia
7. Costa Rica
8. Croatia
9. Czech Republic
10. Ecuador
11. Estonia
12. Finland
13. France
14. Georgia
15. Germany
16. Greece
17. Hungary
18. Iceland
19. Ireland
20. Japan
21. Kenya
22. Liechtenstein
23. Lithuania
24. Malta
25. Mexico
26. Moldova
27. Mongolia
28. Montenegro
29. North Macedonia
30. Panama
31. Paraguay
32. Poland
33. Portugal
34. Romania
35. Sierra Leone
36. Slovenia
37. South Africa
38. Spain
39. Sweden
40. Thailand
41. Türkiye