The last time HPI reported on this subject was February of 2005. Since that time the following developments have taken place.
Hungary announced an amendment to the Child Rights Act that came into effect on January 1, 2005. The amendment asserts, “the child’s right to respect for his/her human dignity and that children may not be subjected to corporal punishment or any other inhuman, cruel or degrading treatment or punishment.”
In the European arena in March 2005, the Government of Netherlands has indicated that legislation is forthcoming to ban corporal punishment and both the Slovak Republic and Slovenia are working on law reform in this area.
In March of 2005, the United Kingdom’s House of Lords rejected a proposal by four independent Christian schools to abolish corporal punishment. Lord Nicholls said that the abolition of corporal punishment may interfere with the Christian schools’ right to practice what they believe in, but that article 9 of the European Human Rights Convention states that, “It is necessary in a democratic society… for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. The statutory ban pursues a legitimate aim: children are vulnerable, and the aim of the legislation is to protect them and promote their well-being.”
Moving to the Caribbean region, the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children held meetings in Trinidad on March 10-11, 2005. As a result of this conference, a report was issued to the government of all the States in the region asking for law reform to ban corporal punishment and to institute an awareness program that advocates a child’s right for protection.
In Greece, a Human Rights Committee examined the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and reported the following to the state in April 2005, “While noting that a legislative amendment to ban corporal punishment in secondary schools has been tabled in Parliament, the Committee is concerned at reports of a widespread practice of corporal punishment of children in the schools. The Committee recommends that the State party prohibit all forms of violence against children wherever it occurs.”
As in the Caribbean region, the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children held a meeting in Islambad, Pakistan from May 19-21, 2005. The Initiative issued its second set of reports to the South Asia region calling for abolition of corporal punishment and asking for an awareness program spreading the teaching whereby children have a right to be protected.
West and Central Africa are still working on law reform to end violence against children. The region has been prompted by a third report form the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children presented at a conference in Bamako, Mali on May 23-25, 2005.
Saving the best for last, a June 2005 reports the following, “Responding to human rights complaints brought against five countries, the European Committee of Social Rights has confirmed (June 2005) that supreme court judgments in Italy and Portugal do prohibit all corporal punishment of children. This means that more than a third (16 of 46) member states of the Council of Europe now give children equal protection under their assault laws. In addition to Italy and Portugal, the other countries where children have equal protection are: Sweden (1979), Finland (1983), Norway (1987), Austria (1989), Cyprus (1994), Denmark (1997), Latvia (1998), Croatia (1999), Bulgaria (2000), Germany (2000), Iceland (2003), Hungary (2004), Romania (2004) and Ukraine (2004). The Committee of Social Rights found that Belgium, Greece and Ireland are in breach of their human rights obligations under the European Social Charter or Revised Social Charter because they have not prohibited all corporal punishment. Greece has already signaled that it will legislate quickly to comply with the decision.”