States which have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international and regional human rights instruments are under a legal obligation to prohibit and eliminate all corporal punishment of children in all settings, including the home.

Governments are systematically reminded of this when they are examined on their implementation of the treaties they have ratified and during the Universal Periodic Reviews of their overall human rights records. National high level court rulings frequently refer to the human rights imperative to protect children from corporal punishment.

National advocacy for law reform is significantly strengthened when it is informed by an awareness of this wider pressure on Governments to fully protect children from corporal punishment.

• Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
• Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
• Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
• Other international human rights standards
• Regional human rights instruments
• Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
• National high-level court judgments