Regardless of the use of physical force and/or the degree of pain or discomfort generated, the UN Committee
on the Rights of the Child has considered that such punishments are a form of violence against children. The
Committee has declared that corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment are forms
of violence and States must take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to
eliminate them.
Similarly, in its examination of States parties on their implementation of the UN Convention against Torture,
the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) has consistently raised the issue of corporal punishment, including
increasingly in schools and other institutions and in the home.
Parties shall ensure that: (a) No child shall be subjected to torture
“ States
or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (…).”
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 37
THIS TOOL IS INTENDED TO:
Assist government policy-makers, legislators and other functionaries
â to better implement international human rights law and standards, through sharing knowledge and good
practices of States in showcasing policies, laws and practices that end corporal punishment and other forms of
cruel or degrading punishments of children.
Illustrate a number of alternative practices
â to corporal punishment and other forms of cruel or degrading punishments that promote an educational
rather than a punitive approach to disciplining children and which are thereby consistent both with the UN
Convention against Torture, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other relevant international
standards.
The document covers a wide variety of settings where corporal punishment and other forms of cruel or degrading
punishments is used as a way to discipline children, including home, educational and care settings. Discipline
within places where children are deprived of liberty, although of major importance, is not covered in this tool.
The checklist at the end will help guide Staters on the steps they may take to align their policies, laws and
educational practices to be in line with UN Convention Against Torture and UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
TOOL: Positive Discipline and Alternatives to Corporal Punishment of Children
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