The ASEAN Declaration on Human Rights, adopted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2012, states that all persons are born free and equal in dignity and rights (article 1) and that no person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (article 14).Not one of the 10 ASEAN member states has prohibited all corporal punishment of children, but there are immediate opportunities to introduce prohibiting legislation in almost all ASEAN member states, and governments in two – the Philippines and Thailand – are publicly committed to achieving prohibition all settings.

This new briefing from the Global Initiative summarises progress to date towards prohibiting corporal punishment in ASEAN member states, identifies the law reform necessary in each state to achieve full prohibition and the current opportunities for doing so. It has been prepared for circulation at two high profile meetings being held this month in the Philippines – the Regional Consultation on the Elimination of Violence against Children and Improved Public Investment on Children on 15-16 October, organised by Child Rights Coalition Asia, and the 11^th meeting of the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC), 18-20 October.

The adoption globally of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its target of ending all violence against children provides a new and immediate context for focussing attention in all regions on what can be done to speed progress towards fulfilling this most fundamental obligation under human rights law.

The briefing is available for download here.