Africa - End Corporal Punishment of Children

Seychelles prohibits corporal punishment in schools

Peace — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 18:52:52 +0000

The Education (Amendment) Act 2017 was passed by the National Assembly of the Seychelles in December 2017 to enact an explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in schools.

The Act amends article 68 of the Education Act 2004 to state:

“(1) All schools and educational institutions shall, in consultation with the Principal Secretary and in accordance with the relevant regulations, formulate and enforce rules of conduct and discipline of the students. (…)

(3) A teacher or headteacher or a person employed by a school, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, shall not administer corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure.”

This prohibition is however undermined by the existence of a legal defence in the Children Act 1982 which provides for the right of teachers “to administer proper punishment” (art. 70) and is still to be formally repealed. The Government has confirmed that corporal punishment is prohibited in schools and that its department of Social Affairs is pushing to remove corporal punishment from the Children Act.

While the Global Initiative welcomes this step towards full prohibition, in the Seychelles corporal punishment of children is still lawful in homes, alternative care and day care settings, and penal institutions. In January 2018, the Government of the Seychelles reiterated to the Committee on the Rights of the Child its commitment to enacting prohibition of corporal punishment in all settings. The current review of the Children Act 1982, the Civil Code and the Penal Code provide perfect opportunities to fulfil this commitment and grant Seychelles’ children equal protection from assault.

For more information, see our country report on Seychelles

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Ghana commits to prohibiting all corporal punishment at UPR’s 28th session

Peace — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 11:13:28 +0000

During the 28^th session of the Universal Periodic Review in November 2017, the human rights record of the following fourteen states were reviewed:

Ghana accepted recommendations to prohibit corporal punishment in all settings, making a clear commitment to enacting law reform. Recent governmental declarations have confirmed this commitment, particularly in light of the upcoming review of the Children’s Act. This brings the number of states committed to full prohibition of all corporal punishment to 56.
Sri Lanka also reiterated its commitment to enacting prohibition in all settings by accepting a clear recommendation to do so. Sri Lanka last year became a Pathfinder with the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children: this renewed commitment must lead to prohibition of corporal punishment of children as a matter of priority.
Gabon, Guatemala and the Republic of Korea have also supported recommendations on the prohibition of corporal punishment – we are seeking official confirmation from their Governments that they are committed to enacting prohibition of all corporal punishment of children, in all settings.
The Czech Republic and Japan each received several recommendations to prohibit corporal punishment in all settings – their respective Governments will respond to the recommendations prior to the Human Rights Council’s session in March 2018. Pakistan will also consider a recommendation to implement “the necessary safeguards for the protection of children against corporal punishment”.
Switzerland received two recommendations on the prohibition of all corporal punishment, supporting one and ‘noting’ the other. Its national report to the UPR, submitted in July 2017, reiterated the Government’s position that “it is not necessary to explicitly incorporate this principle in the Civil Code or to amend the criminal law”.
Argentina received a recommendation to prohibit corporal punishment in all settings, despite having enacted prohibition in 2014. It will respond by March 2018.

Benin, Peru and Ukraine did not receive recommendations on corporal punishment, having prohibited its use in all settings. Zambiadid not get a recommendation to prohibit corporal punishment, despite the legality of its use in the home.

For further details, see the Global Initiative’s individual country reports: Argentina, Benin, the Czech Republic, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Peru, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Ukraine and Zambia.

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South African High Court declares defence of “reasonable chastisement” unconstitutional

Peace — Fri, 20 Oct 2017 08:24:39 +0000

On 19 October 2017, the High Court of Gauteng ruled that the common law defence of “reasonable or moderate chastisement” breaches children’s rights under the 1996 Constitution and, as such, is unconstitutional. In South Africa, the common law has, until now, recognised a defence to the charge of assault for parents who use force to discipline their children, provided this falls within the bounds of “moderate or reasonable chastisement”.

The Court held that children’s rights to be protected from violence, to respect for their dignity and to equal protection under the law could not be limited by a traditionally-recognised ‘right’ of parents to physically discipline their child, nor by a religious belief in the ‘need’ to use corporal punishment to discipline children. This ruling does not create a new criminal offence: it gives children the same protection from assault as adults by removing the defence of “reasonable chastisement”.

Although each party to the case can apply for leave to appeal within 14 days of the ruling, the decision of unconstitutionality does not need to be confirmed by the Constitutional Court. It is effective in common law from the day of the ruling.

The Global Initiative welcomes this very positive step towards the realisation of children’s right to be protected from all forms of violence. This decision to remove the common law defence should now be confirmed in legislation clearly prohibiting all corporal punishment of children, including in the home, in line with the Government’s international human rights obligations and its previous commitment to enacting full prohibition. The Government of South Africa is urged to enact prohibiting legislation as a matter of priority, with an immediate opportunity to be found in the Children’s Third Amendment Bill.

Further information

For more information on the legality and prevalence of corporal punishment, see our country report on South Africa.
For more information on the judgment and the text of the decision, see our summary of this high-level judgement.

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New briefing examines progress towards prohibition of corporal punishment in West and Central Africa

Peace — Fri, 06 Oct 2017 08:42:09 +0000

The Global Initiative and Save the Children are delighted to present a new briefing examining progress towards prohibition of all violent punishment of children in West and Central Africa. Designed to support national action, the briefing sets out what needs to be done to achieve prohibition in each state and highlights any immediate opportunities for reform. The adoption of commitments to end all violence against children – including specifically corporal punishment – in Africa’s Agenda for Children 2040 and the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, provide additional and immediate contexts for focussing attention on fulfilling this most fundamental obligation under human rights law.

Read the briefing in English and French.

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Global Initiative launches new briefing ahead of the Day of the African Child 2017

Peace — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 08:29:27 +0000

The Global Initiative is delighted to present a new leaflet, “Prohibiting all corporal punishment of children in Africa: an essential step towards fulfilling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, published ahead of the Day of the African Child, 16 June 2017, which will this year be commemorated on the theme “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for Children in Africa: accelerating protection, empowerment and equal opportunity”.

The briefing highlights prohibition and elimination of corporal punishment as a key strategy in achieving target 16.2 – end all violence against children – as well as health and education related targets under the global 2030 Agenda, and aspirations under Africa’s Agenda for Children 2040: Fostering an Africa Fit for Children.

Designed to support advocacy, the leaflet is packed with facts and figures tracking progress (and delay) towards prohibition in Africa, and calls on African governments to fulfil their obligation under international and regional human rights law by prohibiting all corporal punishment of children.

Download the leaflet in English or French.

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African e-newsletter issue 25 is out now!

Peace — Fri, 09 Jun 2017 08:27:04 +0000

This latest edition of the African newsletter provides a round-up of recent developments, campaigns and positive moves towards ending corporal punishment from across the continent. It presents new global and regional resources to support advocacy on the issue, as well as information from human rights monitoring bodies in Africa and beyond, including new recommendations made to African states by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Human Rights Council and under the Universal Periodic Review, to prohibit all corporal punishment.

We hope this newsletter will be a useful resource to support individuals and organisations campaigning to prohibit and eliminate all corporal punishment of children – and to encourage the development of new campaigns where they are needed. If you have any queries or comments, please contact Sonia Vohito, Africa Project Coordinator, at vohito@endcorporalpunishment.org.

Download Issue 25 (May 2017) – English, French

Previous issues are available here.

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Zimbabwe High Court declares corporal punishment unconstitutional

Peace — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 09:13:47 +0000

On 28 February 2017, the High Court of Zimbabwe ruled that parents and teachers who inflicted corporal punishment on children were in breach of the 2013 Constitution. Indeed, the new Constitution guarantees people’s right to protection from “physical or psychological torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” (section 53) and from “all forms of violence from public or private sources” (section 52(a)). The Court also held that article 69(2)(c) of the Education Act, which authorised corporal punishment in schools, was unconstitutional.

Although the text of the ruling is not yet available, it can be speculated that the reasoning behind this decision of unconstitutionality is similar to the 2014 High Court case, in which judicial corporal punishment was deemed unconstitutional.

In Zimbabwe, all decisions of unconstitutionality must be confirmed by the Constitutional Court. In 2015, the Constitutional Court provisionally suspended the 2014 High Court ruling, stating that until a decision was reached magistrates could still impose corporal punishment on male juvenile offenders. At the time the Court called for more diverse views on corporal punishment before being able to render a judgement.

For now, the recent High Court ruling has not been referred to the Constitutional Court.

Although the Government had previously said that any law reform would have to await the outcome of the pending Constitutional Court judgment, the Health Minister commented on 3 March 2017 that the Government was studying the ruling and considering enacting a legal ban of all corporal punishment of children.

In Zimbabwe, corporal punishment of children has not been fully prohibited in any setting. For more information on the legality and prevalence of corporal punishment, see our country report on Zimbabwe.

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African e-newsletter issue 24 is out now!

Peace — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 09:08:10 +0000

This latest edition of the African newsletter documents recent developments, campaigns and positive moves towards ending corporal punishment from across the region – including an advocacy intervention in Togo to move from prohibition to elimination of all corporal punishment. It presents the new annual global report from the Global Intiative, as well as information from human rights monitoring bodies in Africa and beyond, including new recommendations to African states to prohibit all corporal punishment.

Download Issue 24 (February 2017) – English, French

Previous issues are available here.

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African e-newsletter issue 22 is now available (April 2016)

Peace — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 09:00:27 +0000

This latest edition of the African newsletter documents recent developments, campaigns and action towards prohibition from across the region. It presents our newly updated leaflet on progress and delay in achieving prohibition in Africa, as well as information from human rights monitoring bodies in Africa and beyond, including new recommendations to African states to prohibit all corporal punishment.

Download Issue 22 (April 2016) – English, French

Previous issues are available here.

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Human Rights Committee recommends prohibition of all corporal punishment in Slovenia and South Africa

Peace — Sun, 10 Apr 2016 08:57:50 +0000

At its 116th session in March, the Human Rights Committee examined states on their implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – including on the obligation to prohibit all corporal punishment of children.

In its concluding observations on the review of Slovenia, the Committee expressed concern that corporal punishment is not explicitly prohibited and recommended practical steps, including legislative measures, to end corporal punishment in all settings. It further recommended that the state encourage non-violent forms of discipline as alternatives to corporal punishment, and conduct public information campaigns to raise awareness of its harmful effects.

To South Africa, the Committee stated its concern that corporal punishment in the home is not prohibited, that it is traditionally accepted and widely practiced, and again recommended practical steps, including legislative measures, to end corporal punishment in all settings.

Legislation to prohibit corporal punishment in all settings is currently being drafted in both states, as part of Slovenia’s new family law and under amendments to the Children’s Act in South Africa. Here’s hoping the Human Rights Committee’s recommendations to take legislative measures to end corporal punishment in all settings will serve to boost that process.

Further information:

For details of the current legality of corporal punishment and the reforms necessary to achieve prohibition, see the Global Initiative’s country reports for Slovenia and South Africa.
For further information on the obligation to prohibit corporal punishment under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, see the Global Initiative’s page on the Human Rights Committee.

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