{"id":1410,"date":"2017-10-16T14:22:09","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T13:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.endcorporalpunishment.net\/?page_id=1410"},"modified":"2023-02-20T14:53:07","modified_gmt":"2023-02-20T14:53:07","slug":"mauritius","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/reports-on-every-state-and-territory\/mauritius\/","title":{"rendered":"Mauritius"},"content":{"rendered":"\n            <div class=\"separator- glacier-section\"  id=\"section-69d798f5afecc\">\n            <div class=\"container\">\n                <section>\n                    \n<div class=\"row\">\n\t\n\n<div class=\"col-xs-12 col-sm-6 col-md-3\" style=\"background: transparent  \">\n\t<div class=\"feature-box text-center media-box \">\n    <div class=\"fbox-media\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" data-no-retina src=\"\/\/www.endcorporalpunishment.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/flag-antigua.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"\" height=\"\" class=\"img-responsive\" \/>\n        \t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"fbox-desc\">\n        <h2><\/h2>\n        <span class=\"subtitle\"><\/span>\n        \n    <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"col-xs-12 col-sm-12 col-md-9\" style=\"background: transparent  \">\n\t\n<div class=\"heading-block text-left heading-block-line\">\n\t<h2 class=\"special-heading\" >Country Report for Mauritius<\/h2>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"text-block shortcode-container\" >\n\t<p>LAST UPDATED: February 2023<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"row\">\n\t\n\n<div class=\"col-xs-12 col-sm-12\" style=\"background: transparent  \">\n\t\n<div class=\"vertical\">    <ul class=\"nav nav-tabs\" role=\"tablist\">\n                    <li class=\"active\"><a href=\"#tabs-69d798f5b087f0\" role=\"tab\" data-toggle=\"tab\"> Summary<\/a><\/li>\n                    <li ><a href=\"#tabs-69d798f5b087f1\" role=\"tab\" data-toggle=\"tab\"> Legality <\/a><\/li>\n                    <li ><a href=\"#tabs-69d798f5b087f2\" role=\"tab\" data-toggle=\"tab\"> UPR<\/a><\/li>\n                    <li ><a href=\"#tabs-69d798f5b087f3\" role=\"tab\" data-toggle=\"tab\"> Treaty bodies<\/a><\/li>\n                    <li ><a href=\"#tabs-69d798f5b087f4\" role=\"tab\" data-toggle=\"tab\"> Research<\/a><\/li>\n            <\/ul>\n\n    <div class=\"tab-content\">\n                    <div class=\"tab-pane active\" id=\"tabs-69d798f5b087f0\">\n                <h3>Summary of necessary legal reform to achieve full prohibition<\/h3><p>Law reform has been achieved. Corporal punishment is prohibited in all settings, including the home.<\/p>            <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"tab-pane \" id=\"tabs-69d798f5b087f1\">\n                <h3>Current legality of corporal punishment<\/h3><h3>Home<\/h3><p>Corporal punishment is prohibited in the home under section 14 of the Children\u2019s Act 2020 . \u00a0In January 2022, the National Assembly passed the Children\u2019s Bill 2020, to explicitly prohibit corporal punishment of children in all settings and repeal both the Child Protection Act 1994 and the Juvenile Offenders Act 1935. \u00a0<\/p><p>Section 14 of the Children\u2019s Act 2020 states: \u201c(1) No person shall inflict corporal or humiliating punishment on a child as a measure to correct or discipline the child.<\/p><p>(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 200,000 rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5years.\u201d<\/p><p>Corporal punishment or humiliating punishment is defined as: \u201cany form of punishment which causes pain or suffering to a child through, but not limited to, the use of force or use of substances.\u201d (Section 14 (3)).<\/p><p>Prior to this reform, there was no explicit prohibition of all corporal punishment in childrearing. The English common law defence of \u201creasonable chastisement\u201d may have been applicable. Mauritius stated its intention to prohibit corporal punishment during the Universal Periodic Review of Mauritius in 2013. In 2015, the Government confirmed that prohibition is included in the draft Children\u2019s Bill and in 2019 it supported several UPR recommendations to prohibit all corporal punishment of children.<\/p><p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><h3>Alternative care settings<\/h3><p>Corporal punishment is unlawful in all alternative care settings under section 14 of the Children\u2019s Act 2020 which provides that \u201cno person shall inflict corporal or humiliating punishment on a child as a measure to correct or discipline the child.\u201d (see under \u201cHome\u201d).<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><h3>Day care<\/h3><p>Corporal punishment is unlawful under section 14 of the Children\u2019s Act 2020. (see under \u201cHome\u201d).<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><h3>Schools<\/h3><p>Corporal punishment is unlawful in all schools under section 14 of the Children\u2019s Act 2020 which provides that \u201cno person shall inflict corporal or humiliating punishment on a child as a measure to correct or discipline the child.\u201d (see under \u201cHome\u201d). Corporal punishment is also prohibited in schools in article 13(4) of the Education Regulations 1957. The Ministry of Education and Human Resources has issued a circular to all schools stating that perpetrators of corporal punishment are liable to legal action under the Child Protection Act.<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a><\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><h3>Penal institutions<\/h3><p>Corporal punishment is unlawful in penal institutions under section 14 of the Children\u2019s Act 2020. (see under \u201cHome\u201d).<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><h3>Sentence for crime<\/h3><p>Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime. Section 14 of the Children\u2019s Act 2020 provides that \u201cno person shall inflict corporal or humiliating punishment on a child as a measure to correct or discipline the child.\u201d \u00a0There is no provision for judicial corporal punishment in the Criminal Code 1838.<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> 28 October 2013, CRC\/C\/MUS\/3-5, Third-fifth state party report, para. 41<\/p>            <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"tab-pane \" id=\"tabs-69d798f5b087f2\">\n                <h3>Universal Periodic Review of Mauritius\u2019 human rights record<\/h3><p>Mauritius was examined in the first cycle of the Universal Periodic Review in 2009 (session 4). No recommendations were made specifically concerning corporal punishment of children. However, the following recommendations were made and were accepted by the Government:<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a><\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cReview its domestic legislation with a view to aligning it with the provisions of the human rights instruments that it has ratified (South Africa);<\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cIncrease its efforts in ensuring full compliance of its domestic legislation with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including by introducing a legal minimum age for criminal accountability (Italy) in line with international standards (Germany); Enact a Children\u2019s Act as well as consolidating national legislation which is fully in line with the international obligations it has undertaken (Indonesia);<\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cImplement the recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (South Africa);<\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cMake all possible efforts to eradicate all forms of violence, all form of abuse against children and eliminate completely police brutality (Mexico)\u201d<\/p><p>Examination in the second cycle took place in 2013 (session 17). During the review, the Government stated that it had \u201ctaken the decision to include corporal punishment as an offense in the Children\u2019s Bill in order to bring the laws even more in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child\u201d.<a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a> The following recommendation was made:<a href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a><\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cAdopt legislation that explicitly prohibits corporal punishment, and continue awareness raising campaigns on the negative effects of corporal punishment (Uruguay)\u201d<\/p><p>During the dialogue, the Government did not clearly accept or reject the recommendation but confirmed that corporal punishment is prohibited in schools and that \u201cthe Children\u2019s Bill, which is currently under preparation, proposes to specifically prohibit corporal punishment in order to be in line with the international norms set out \u00a0in the Convention on the Rights of the Children\u201d.<a href=\"#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\">[4]<\/a> The Government later formally accepted the recommendation in the state\u2019s mid-term report.<a href=\"#_ftn5\" name=\"_ftnref5\">[5]<\/a><\/p><p>Third cycle examination took place in 2018 (session 31). The following recommendations were made:<a href=\"#_ftn6\" name=\"_ftnref6\">[6]<\/a><\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cAdopt as soon as possible the consolidated Children Bill, addressing key issues such as children's access to justice and the prohibition of corporal punishment in all spheres of society, promoting the adoption of non-violent disciplinary measures (Uruguay)\u201d<\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cAdopt the consolidated Children\u2019s Bill, including a prohibition of all forms of corporal punishment of children in all settings (Germany)\u201d<\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cConsider taking further steps to finalize the Children\u2019s Bill which will, among others, abolish corporal punishment in all settings (Namibia)\u201d<\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cContinue to strengthen efforts to combat child abuse in all its forms, by adopting and implementing the Children\u2019s Bill with particular attention to issues such as corporal punishment, early and forced marriage, trafficking, sexual exploitation and forced prostitution (Netherlands)\u201d<\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cIntensify efforts at formulating a comprehensive strategy for preventing and combating child abuse, including prohibition of corporal punishment in all settings (Ukraine)\u201d<\/p><p>The Government later supported the recommendations.<a href=\"#_ftn7\" name=\"_ftnref7\">[7]<\/a><\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> 3 March 2009, A\/HRC\/11\/28, Report of the working group, paras. 27(2), 27(8), 27(12) and 27(27)<\/p><p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> 26 December 2013, A\/HRC\/25\/8, Report of the working group, para. 126<\/p><p><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a> 26 December 2013, A\/HRC\/25\/8, Report of the working group, para. 129(29)<\/p><p><a href=\"#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\">[4]<\/a> 14 March 2014, A\/HRC\/25\/8\/Add.1, Report of the working group: Addendum, para. 32<\/p><p><a href=\"#_ftnref5\" name=\"_ftn5\">[5]<\/a> 2016, Mauritius\u2019 national mid-term report<\/p><p><a href=\"#_ftnref6\" name=\"_ftn6\">[6]<\/a> 27 December 2018, A\/HRC\/40\/9, Report of the Working Group, paras. 115(133), 115(135), 115(138), 115(156) and 115(162)<\/p><p><a href=\"#_ftnref7\" name=\"_ftn7\">[7]<\/a> 15 February 2019, A\/HRC\/40\/9\/Add.1 Advance version, Report of the Working Group: Addendum<\/p>            <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"tab-pane \" id=\"tabs-69d798f5b087f3\">\n                <h3>Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies<\/h3><h3><em>Committee on the Rights of the Child<\/em><\/h3><p>(7 February 2023, CRC\/C\/MUS\/CO\/6-7, Advance Unedited Version, Concluding observations on sixth-seventh report, para. 21)<\/p><p>\u201cWhile noting with appreciation the explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in all settings in the Children\u2019s Act 2020, the Committee recalls its general comment No. 8 (2006) on corporal punishment and recommends that the State party:<\/p><p>a) Strengthen legislative implementation by enhancing awareness-raising campaigns and parenting education programmes, including for professionals working with and for children, to promote attitudinal change within the family and the community, with a view to eradicating the practice of corporal punishment;<\/p><p>b) Establish protocols and procedures to take action when corporal punishment takes place, including the provision of child-friendly complaint mechanisms, particularly in schools and alternative care facilities, ensuring safe and confidential reporting as well as duly sanctioning perpetrators.\u201d<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><p><em>Committee on the Rights of the Child<\/em><\/p><p>(27 February 2015, CRC\/C\/MUS\/CO\/3-5, Concluding observations on third-fifth report, paras. 37, 38 and 44)<\/p><p>\u201cThe Committee is concerned that corporal punishment is applied in general as part of the school culture, even though it is prohibited by the Education Regulations of 1957, and that corporal punishment is not explicitly prohibited by law in all settings, including the home and alternative care settings, as well as the penal system.<\/p><p>\u201cThe Committee urges the State party to ensure that its legislation, including a children\u2019s act, explicitly prohibits corporal punishment in all settings. The Committee also urges the State party to promote positive, non-violent and participatory forms of child-rearing and discipline. The State party is further encouraged to establish a clear reporting system for incidents of corporal punishment, notably in schools.<\/p><p>\u201cRecalling the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children (General Assembly resolution 64\/142, annex), the Committee emphasizes that financial and material poverty or conditions directly attributable to it should not be the sole justification for removing a child from parental care. The Committee recommends that the State party:<\/p><p>a) establish adequate support services for parents, as well as adopting and implementing awareness-raising and training programmes on parenting skills, including on alternatives to corporal punishment....\u201d<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><p><em>Committee on the Rights of the Child<\/em><\/p><p>(17 March 2006, CRC\/C\/MUS\/CO\/2, Concluding observations on second report, paras. 37 and 38)<\/p><p>\u201cWhile noting that corporal punishment is prohibited in schools through the Education Regulations of 1957, the Committee remains concerned that corporal punishment is not explicitly forbidden by law in the family and in all settings, including in alternative care settings.<\/p><p>\u201cThe Committee reiterates its previous concluding observations (CRC\/C\/15\/Add.64, para. 31) and urges the State party to prohibit through legislation and other measures corporal punishment of children in the family, in schools, in penal institutions and in alternative care settings. The Committee further recommends that the State party conduct awareness-raising campaigns among adults and children, the promotion of non-violent, positive, participatory methods of child-rearing and education.\u201d<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><p><em>Committee on the Rights of the Child <\/em><\/p><p>(30 October 1996, CRC\/C\/15\/Add.64, Concluding observations on initial report, para. 31)<\/p><p>\u201cIn the light of articles 19, 34 and 35 of the Convention, the Committee encourages the State party to take all appropriate measures to prevent and combat ill-treatment of children, including child abuse within the family, corporal punishment, child labour and the sexual exploitation of children, including victims of sexual tourism\u2026.\u201d<\/p><h3><em>Committee Against Torture<\/em><\/h3><p>(15 June 2011, CAT\/C\/MUS\/CO\/3, Concluding observations on third report, para. 17)<\/p><p>\u201cWhile taking note of the information supplied by the State party, according to which section 13 of the Child Protection Act makes an offence to expose any child to harm, the Committee is concerned that corporal punishment is not fully prohibited in the legislation of the State party, including in penal institutions and in alternative care settings \u2026 (art. 16).<\/p><p>The State party should adopt legislation to prohibit corporal punishment, in particular in social institutions and in alternative care settings. To that end, the State party should incorporate this issue in its Children\u2019s Bill under preparation. The State party should also pursue awareness-campaigns on the negative effects of corporal punishment. Finally, it should strengthen its efforts to combat child abuse, including by investigating, prosecuting and punishing those responsible. The State party should provide the Committee with statistical data regarding cases of child abuse, the investigations, prosecutions, sentences imposed and redress or rehabilitation offered to victims.\u201d<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><h3><em>Human Rights Committee<\/em><\/h3><p>(9 November 2017, CCPR\/C\/MUS\/CO\/5, Advance unedited version, Concluding observations on fifth report, paras. 23 and 24)<\/p><p>\u201cThe Committee is concerned that corporal punishment has not yet been explicitly prohibited at home, in day-care and alternative care settings as well as in penal institutions (arts. 7, 24).<\/p><p>\u201cThe State party should prohibit corporal punishment in all settings.\u201d<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><h3><em>Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women<\/em><\/h3><p>(9 November 2018, CEDAW\/C\/MUS\/CO\/8 Advance unedited version, Concluding observations on eighth report, paras. 17 and 18)<\/p><p>\u201c\u2026The Committee, however, remains concerned at:<\/p><p>(b) The gaps in national legislation on some forms of gender-based violence, including the lack of an explicit prohibition of marital rape (even though marital rape can be prosecuted under section 249 of the Criminal Code and under section 13 (2) of the Protection from Domestic Violence Act) and the limited scope of section 13 (4) of the Child Protection Act of 1 April 1995 (Act No. 30 of 1994) that prohibits corporal punishment only in schools;<\/p><p>\u201cThe Committee recalls its General Recommendation No. 35 (2017) on gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19, and reiterates its recommendation that the State party:<\/p><p>(b) Amend or adopt legislation to explicitly prohibit marital rape and corporal punishment of children in all settings\u201d<\/p><p>&nbsp;<\/p><h3><em>Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights<\/em><\/h3><p>(8 June 2010, E\/C.12\/MUS\/CO\/4, Concluding observations on second to fourth report, para. 23)<\/p><p>\u201cThe Committee is concerned at the persistent problem with cases of child abuse and neglect in the State party (art. 10).<\/p><p>The Committee recommends that the State party take the necessary measures to combat child abuse and neglect, including explicitly prohibiting corporal punishment at home and in alternative care settings and as a disciplinary measure in the penal system.\u201d<\/p>            <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"tab-pane \" id=\"tabs-69d798f5b087f4\">\n                <p>None identified.<\/p>            <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n                <\/section>\n            <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n    \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Country Report for Mauritius LAST UPDATED: February 2023 Summary Legality UPR Treaty bodies Research Summary of necessary legal reform to achieve full prohibitionLaw reform has been achieved. Corporal punishment is prohibited in all settings, including the home. Current legality of corporal punishmentHomeCorporal punishment is prohibited in the home under section 14 of the Children\u2019s Act [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":1301,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1410","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1410"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24000,"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1410\/revisions\/24000"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/endcorporalpunishment.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}