Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, session 50 (2013)

RECOMMENDATIONS/OBSERVATIONS ON CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN THE COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS' CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS TO STATES EXAMINED IN SESSION 50 (29 APRIL - 17 MAY 2013)

Denmark

(6 June 2013, E/C.12/DNK/CO/5, Concluding observations on fifth report, para. 14)

"The Committee is concerned that corporal punishment of children is not explicitly prohibited in Greenland regarding the home and other care settings (art. 10).

The Committee recommends that the State party take steps to ensure that corporal punishment is prohibited in all settings in Greenland."

Jamaica

(10 June 2013, E/C.12/JAM/CO/3-4, Concluding observations on third/fourth report, para. 20)

"While noting the establishment of various State agencies to ensure the protection of children, including the Child Development Agency, the Office of the Children’s Advocate and the Office of the Children’s Registry, as well as the adoption of the Child Care and Protection Act, the Committee remains deeply concerned at high levels of violence, use of corporal punishment in the home and in schools, abuse, neglect and sexual exploitation of children, as well as child victims’ lack of access to psychosocial support. It is also deeply concerned at reports of sexual, physical and mental abuse of children at the hands of caregivers in the State party’s children’s homes and places of safety supervised by the Child Development Agency (art. 10).

The Committee strongly urges the State party to eradicate all forms of violence against children, including through the assistance of relevant United Nations agencies operating in the State party, in particular the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), by adopting concrete measures to: ...

b)  prohibit all forms of corporal punishment in all settings, including within the family; and

c)  ensure the protection of children in the State party’s child care institutions, including through the adoption of necessary reforms to effectively monitor, identify and prosecute individuals responsible for child abuse."

Rwanda

(10 June 2013, E/C.12/RWA/CO/2-4, Concluding observations on second to fourth report, para. 21)

"The Committee notes that the Law No. 54/2011 of 14 December 2011 relating to the rights and the protection of children has abolished corporal punishment in all settings, but it remains concerned that the 'right of correction' set out in the Civil Code may be misinterpreted and allow for corporal punishment (art. 10).

The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that the Law No. 54/2011 of 14 December 2011 and the Civil Code fully abolish corporal punishment of any kind in all settings without exception."