Summary:

This global report was launched during the week of the presentation of the UN Study on Violence Against Children in New York on 12 October. The report is part of a submission to the Violence Study.

http://www.crin.org/docs/Gobal_report.pdf

As the UN Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children sets a
deadline of 2009 for all countries to ban all corporal punishment, a new
report – the first of its kind – shows that only 52 million of the world’s 2,187
million children are currently given the same protection as adults under national
assault laws.

The 48 page report entitled "Ending legalised violence against
children", published by the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of
Children, includes a country-by-country guide to the legality of hitting children in
the family, at school and elsewhere.

"Banning all corporal punishment means legislating to give children equal
protection under the law on assault – in the family, at school and everywhere
else," said Peter Newell, co-ordinator of the Global Initiative to End All Corporal
Punishment of Children. "Equal protection is a fundamental human right which
is denied to more than nine out of ten of the world’s children. The 2009
deadline puts us on course for a corporal punishment free world."

This follows the presentation to the UN General Assembly yesterday
(WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 11) of the findings of the UN Secretary-General’s
Study on Violence against Children. The Study, led by Independent Expert
Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, calls for all violence against children to be
prohibited, including all corporal punishment, by 2009.

The new report – available at www.endcorporalpunishment.org – says: "Hitting
people is wrong – and children are people too. Corporal punishment of children
breaches their fundamental rights to respect for their human dignity and
physical integrity. Its legality breaches their right to equal protection under the
law. Urgent action is needed in every region of the world to respect fully the
rights of all children – the smallest and most fragile of people."

Previous Publication (general) items

• 11/10/2006: Letter from Jaap Doek to Governments concerning the Violence Study
• 11/10/2006: République démocratique du Congo: Les enfants soldats laissés à l’abandon
• 10/10/2006: Informe del experto independiente para el estudio de la violencia contra los niños, de las Naciones Unidas
• 10/10/2006: International failure to identify and protect children on child abuse images (child pornography)
• 10/10/2006: Mensajes clave

Organisation Contact Details:

Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children
94, White Lion Street
London, N1 9PF
Tel: +44 20 7713 0569
Email: info@endcorporalpunishment.org
Website: www.endcorporalpunishment.org

Last updated 12/10/2006 14:32:24

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.