{"id":1154,"date":"2016-06-10T10:03:39","date_gmt":"2016-06-10T09:03:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.endcorporalpunishment.net\/?p=1154"},"modified":"2017-10-06T10:10:12","modified_gmt":"2017-10-06T09:10:12","slug":"resolution-to-speed-progress-to-end-all-corporal-punishment-adopted-at-high-level-global-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/resolution-to-speed-progress-to-end-all-corporal-punishment-adopted-at-high-level-global-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Resolution to speed progress to end all corporal punishment adopted at High Level Global Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

A High Level Global Conference \u201cTowards Childhoods free from Corporal Punishment\u201d was hosted by the Austrian Government in Vienna this week, 1 \u2013 2 June 2016. The Conference \u2013 which followed the inaugural conference hosted by the Swedish Government in 2014 \u2013 marked the 10th anniversary of the presentation of the UN Study on Violence against Children to the General Assembly. At that time, only 16 states had laws clearly prohibiting all corporal punishment of children. Today, this number has tripled; more than half of all UN member states have prohibited corporal punishment in all settings including the home (49) or have clearly committed to doing so (54).<\/p>\n

This intergovernmental conference celebrated accelerating progress, but more importantly, aimed to build momentum for further reform, inspiring collaboration within and between governments to build a world where respect for children\u2019s human dignity is the norm rather than the exception. To this end, the Global Initiative prepared a\u00a0special progress report<\/a>\u00a0describing how states can work collaboratively towards universal prohibition of violent punishment. Designed to support action, the report sets out existing regional commitments, how to use opportunities at national level to achieve prohibition, and what is required for states to move from prohibition in law to elimination of all violent punishment of children.<\/p>\n

Ministers responsible for children\u2019s rights in many states that have achieved prohibition addressed the Conference, sharing their experience of implementing a legal ban. Considering target 16.2 (to end all forms of violence against children) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Sharon Owen from the Global Initiative said given the current rate of progress, \u201cuniversal prohibition by 2030 is an entirely realistic target.\u201d Paulo S\u00e9rgio Pinheiro, the independent expert who led the UN Study on Violence against Children, said \u201ca child hit and hurt today will, by 2030, be an adult suffering the negative impact of that violent punishment\u201d and stressed the urgency of law reform \u201cif we are to have any hope of ending corporal punishment by 2030.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the Conference, participants adopted a Resolution declaring, among other things, that:<\/p>\n

\u2026legal prohibition of corporal punishment of children is a critical foundation for changing social norms which accept or condone such violence and for promoting positive, non-violent relationships with children\u2026\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Under the Resolution, participants committed to:<\/p>\n