The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the primary human rights instrument for children. It has been ratified or acceded to by 196 states (November 2019, all except for the USA).
The obligation to prohibit all corporal punishment of children falls directly under articles 19, 28(2) and 37 of the Convention.
Art. 19: “(1) States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child….”
Art. 28(2): “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that school discipline is administered in a manner consistent with the child's human dignity and in conformity with the present Convention.”
Art. 37: “States Parties shall ensure that: (a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age….”
Article 4 of the Convention emphasises that its implementation necessitates legislative as well as non-legislative measures.
Art. 4: “States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the present Convention….”
Articles 2, 3, 6 and 12 are regarded as the four general principles underlying implementation of the Convention, providing respectively for non-discrimination, the best interests of the child, the child’s right to life, survival and development, and respect for the views of the child.
The primary reference for the Committee’s interpretation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in relation to corporal punishment of children is its General Comment No. 8 (2006) on “The right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment (arts. 19; 28, para. 2; and 37, inter alia)”. This text consolidates the Committee’s position on corporal punishment of children in the context of its work on the issue and of other international and regional human rights standards, confirms the obligation on states parties to the Convention to reform their laws to prohibit it and provides a benchmark by which to assess whether or not prohibition has been achieved. For example:
Other General Comments of the Committee may also be referred to, including No. 1 on “The aims of education” (2001), No. 10 on “Children’s rights in juvenile justice” (2007), No. 13 on “The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence” (2011), No. 20 on "The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence" (2016), No. 21 on "Children in street situations" (2017) and No. 24 on "Children’s rights in the child justice system" (2019).
In March 2022, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities released a joint statement on “The rights of children with disabilities”.
In the statement, the Committees recall the common obligation of States parties to the CRC and/or the CRPD to take measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination including multiple and intersectional discrimination. These measures can be of a legislative, educational, administrative, cultural, political, among others, and in areas including health, social services, education and justice.
The Committees expressed concern that discrimination against children with disabilities make them disproportionately vulnerable to violence, including corporal punishment, neglect and abuse, in all settings, such as the family home, mental health, educational, or childcare institutions. The Committees therefore called on States parties to urgently adopt comprehensive strategies to eliminate violence against children with disabilities. These strategies should comprise preventive measures including by raising awareness in society, educating parents, training professionals, educating children with disabilities about their rights and how to exercise them.
Since the very beginning of its work in examining the reports of states parties on their implementation of the Convention, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has raised the issue of corporal punishment of children with governments and recommended it be prohibited, including in the home. By March 2020, the Committee had made 486 observations / recommendations on the issue to 194 states (no recommendations have yet been made to Somalia and South Sudan (since the independence)). Recommendations are consistently to prohibit corporal punishment in all settings, including the home, and to support this with relevant measures of implementation. Once states have achieved prohibition, the Committee continues to monitor its implementation and enforcement.
Extracts from the Committee's recommendations to states on corporal punishment of children can be accessed here by session. Recommendations are also included in the individual country reports.
Under the Optional Protocol to the CRC on a Communications Procedure, communications can be made to the Committee claiming that the rights of a child or group of children have been violated by the state. Information can also be submitted to the Committee indicating serious or systematic violations of the Convention by the state into which the Committee can make inquiries. The Optional Protocol, which came into force in April 2014, has been ratified by 48 states (July 2022).
21 June 2022, CRC/C/90/D/84/2019, Views adopted by the Committee under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure, concerning communication No. 84/2019.
In 2018, a communication was submitted against Georgia, by N.B., a national of Georgia - represented by Partnership for Human Rights - who alleged that the State party had violated his rights under articles 2, 12 and 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The author of the communication - then aged 4- claimed that in January 2017, he was subjected to corporal punishment at his public kindergarten, by a teacher. The victim reportedly sustained injuries on his face and ears. He argued that the justice system failed to pursue the investigation of his case and bring it before the court.
In its Views issued on 21 June 2022, the Committee noted that more than five years after the incident, the investigation was still pending, without any significant developments. It therefore concluded that the national authorities have “not shown due diligence” and have “failed to investigate the alleged corporal punishment promptly and effectively”, in violation of the State party’s obligations under article 19 of the Convention.
The Committee also concluded that:
“The State party is under an obligation to provide an effective reparation to the author. The State party is also under an obligation to take all steps necessary to prevent similar violations from occurring in the future, in particular by ensuring that cases of corporal punishment are promptly and effectively investigated.”
It required Georgia to provide information about the measures it will take to give effect to the Committee’s Views within 180 days.
This is the first communication concerning corporal punishment of children and considered by the Committee, after the Optional Protocol to the CRC on a Communications Procedure came into force in 2014. At the time of the incident, Georgia had not fully prohibited corporal punishment of children. With the enactment of its Code on the Rights of the Child in 2019, Georgia has since prohibited corporal punishment of children in all settings, including in the home and day care settings. Georgia became a Pathfinding country with the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children in May 2018. This commits the Government to three to five years of accelerated action towards the achievement of Target 16.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
20 June 2024, CRC/C/96/D/144/2021, Views adopted by the Committee under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure, concerning communication No. 144/2021
After reviewing a complaint filed on behalf of 57 children living in Ninotsminda St Nino Children’s Boarding School at the time of submission, the Committee on the Rights of the Child issued a decision on the 27th of June, stating that Georgia violated its child rights obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child by failing to take immediate intervention to address the repeated physical and psychological abuse of children who lived in a close-type orphanage run by the Georgian Orthodox Church.
In a report published in 2015, the Public Defender’s Office first identified the dire conditions prevailing in the residential facility for orphans and children without parental care. In particular, the report pointed out psychological and physical bullying among children, as well as corporal punishments by caregivers, including prostrations, confinement, and forced crawling. The authorities being unable to monitor children at the orphanage, the NGO Partnership for Human Rights took the matter to several courts in Tbilisi and finally to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in May 2021.
Upon review of the complaint, the Committee requested Georgia to ensure effective reparation to the child victims such as adequate compensation and rehabilitation, a public apology and a reassessment of the children still under State care, amongst others. In order to incorporate the views of the children, reparation measures should also be coordinated closely with the victims. Committee member Benoit Van Keirsbilck said that “the treatment they received will have life-long consequences on their development”.
Please find more detailed information in the Committee’s press release. You can access its decision here.