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The aims of education 2001, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Fifth, it emphasizes the need for education to be designed and provided in such a way that it promotes and reinforces the range of specific ethical values enshrined in the Convention, including education for peace, tolerance, and respect for the natural environment, in an integrated and holistic manner. This may require a multidisciplinary approach. The promotion and reinforcement of the values of article 29 (1) are not only necessary because of problems elsewhere, but must also focus on problems within the child's own community. Education in this regard should take place within the family, but schools and communities must also play an important role. For example, for the development of respect for the natural environment, education must link issues of environment and sustainable development with socio-economic, sociocultural and demographic issues. Similarly, respect for the natural environment should be learnt by children at home, in school and within the community, encompass both national and international problems, and actively involve children in local, regional or global environmental projects.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2001
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health 2013, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention places an obligation on public and private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities and legislative bodies to ensure that the best interests of the child are assessed and taken as a primary consideration in all actions affecting children. This principle must be observed in all health-related decisions concerning individual children or children as a group. Individual children's best interests should be based on their physical, emotional, social and educational needs, age, sex, relationship with parents and caregivers, and their family and social background, and after having heard their views according to article 12 of the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The Committee highlights the importance of the State party affirmatively ensuring that victims and their families are adequately informed of their right to pursue redress. In this regard, the procedures for seeking reparation should be transparent. The State party should moreover provide assistance and support to minimize the hardship to complainants and their representatives. Civil proceedings, or other proceedings, should not impose a financial burden upon victims that would prevent or discourage them from seeking redress. Where existing civil proceedings are unable to provide adequate redress to victims, the Committee recommends implementing mechanisms that are readily accessible to victims of torture and ill-treatment, including the establishment of a national fund to provide redress for victims of torture. Special measures should be adopted to ensure access by persons belonging to groups which have been marginalized or made vulnerable.
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Article 7: Torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment - replaced by GC No. 20 1982, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- In examining the reports of States parties, members of the Committee have often asked for further information under article 7 which prohibits, in the first place, torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Committee recalls that even in situations of public emergency such as are envisaged by article 4 (1) this provision is non-derogable under article 4 (2). Its purpose is to protect the integrity and dignity of the individual. The Committee notes that it is not sufficient for the implementation of this article to prohibit such treatment or punishment or to make it a crime. Most States have penal provisions which are applicable to cases of torture or similar practices. Because such cases nevertheless occur, it follows from article 7, read together with article 2 of the Covenant, that States must ensure an effective protection through some machinery of control. Complaints about ill-treatment must be investigated effectively by competent authorities. Those found guilty must be held responsible, and the alleged victims must themselves have effective remedies at their disposal, including the right to obtain compensation. Among the safeguards which may make control effective are provisions against detention incommunicado, granting, without prejudice to the investigation, persons such as doctors, lawyers and family members access to the detainees; provisions requiring that detainees should be held in places that are publicly recognized and that their names and places of detention should be entered in a central register available to persons concerned, such as relatives; provisions making confessions or other evidence obtained through torture or other treatment contrary to article 7 inadmissible in court; and measures of training and instruction of law enforcement officials not to apply such treatment.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Families
- Year
- 1982
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Article 10: Humane treatment of persons deprived of liberty 1982, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- In a number of cases, the information appearing in reports with respect to paragraph 3 of the article has contained no concrete mention either of legislative or administrative measures or of practical steps to promote the reformation and social rehabilitation of prisoners, by, for example, education, vocational training and useful work. Allowing visits, in particular by family members, is normally also such a measure which is required for reasons of humanity. There are also similar lacunae in the reports of certain States with respect to information concerning juvenile offenders, who must be segregated from adults and given treatment appropriate to their age and legal status.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 1982
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Persons with Disabilities 1994, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- In the case of persons with disabilities, the Covenant's requirement that "protection and assistance" be rendered to the family means that everything possible should be done to enable such persons, when they so wish, to live with their families. Article 10 also implies, subject to the general principles of international human rights law, the right of persons with disabilities to marry and have their own family. These rights are frequently ignored or denied, especially in the case of persons with mental disabilities. In this and other contexts, the term "family" should be interpreted broadly and in accordance with appropriate local usage. States parties should ensure that laws and social policies and practices do not impede the realization of these rights. Persons with disabilities should have access to necessary counselling services in order to fulfil their rights and duties within the family.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Part III of the Convention protects the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families, including those in an irregular situation. Most of the rights protected in Part III are common to a host of international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Among the civil and political rights protected in Part III, the right of migrant workers to liberty and security of person (art. 16) and the right of migrant workers deprived of their liberty to be treated with humanity (art. 17) have been contextualized, taking into account the situation of this group of rights-holders. Specific rights of migrant workers that are either not explicitly protected in other human rights treaties include their protection against unauthorized confiscation or destruction of personal documents (art. 21), procedural safeguards in individual expulsion proceedings (art. 22) and the right to have recourse to consular or diplomatic protection and assistance (art. 23). Among the economic, social and cultural rights of all migrant workers, the right to respect for their cultural identity (art. 31) and the right to transfer their earnings and savings upon termination of their stay in the State of employment (art. 32) are Convention-specific. In addition, Part III provides for information rights (art. 33) and affirms the obligation of all migrant workers and members of their families to comply with the laws of the State of employment or transit (art. 34).
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- Also in 1992, and in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the International Plan of Action on Ageing, the General Assembly adopted the Proclamation on Ageing, in which it urged support of national initiatives on ageing so that older women are given adequate support for their largely unrecognized contributions to society and older men are encouraged to develop social, cultural and emotional capacities which they may have been prevented from developing during breadwinning years; so that families are supported in providing care and all family members encouraged to cooperate in caregiving; and so that international cooperation is expanded in the context of the strategies for reaching the global targets on ageing for the year 2001. It also proclaimed the year 1999 as the International Year of Older Persons in recognition of humanity's demographic "coming of age".
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Older persons
- Women
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- As a deterrent for migrant workers and members of their families in an irregular situation to enter or stay on their territory, States increasingly resort to repressive measures, such as criminalization of irregular migration, administrative detention and expulsion. Criminalization of irregular migration fosters and promotes public perceptions that migrant workers and members of their families in an irregular situation are "illegal", second-class individuals, or unfair competitors for jobs and social benefits, thereby fuelling anti-immigration public discourses, discrimination and xenophobia. Moreover, migrant workers and members of their families in an irregular situation generally live in fear of being reported to the immigration authorities by public service providers or other officials, or by private individuals, which limits their access to fundamental human rights, as well as their access to justice, and makes them more vulnerable to labour and other types of exploitation and abuse.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- International sources estimate that between 10 and 15 per cent of the world's international migrants are in an irregular situation, although the very nature of irregular migration makes it difficult to find reliable data on the scale of this phenomenon. While the economies of developing countries cannot absorb the large numbers of young men and, increasingly, women, seeking employment, population decline and ageing have reduced the labour force in developed countries, thereby generating a demand for low and middle-skilled migrant workers in many sectors of the economy. However, that demand has not been matched by a corresponding increase in regular migration channels. As a result, employers often resort to migrant workers in an irregular situation to fill the gaps.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- The Committee notes that the Convention provides only for a minimum standard of protection. Article 81, paragraph 1, states that nothing shall prevent States parties from granting more favourable rights or freedoms than those set out in the Convention to migrant workers and members of their families, including those in an irregular situation, by virtue of the law and practice of, or any bilateral or multilateral treaty in force for, the State party concerned. The Committee is of the view that a State's obligation under the Convention must be read with respect to the core human rights treaties and other relevant international instruments to which it is a party. Although separate and freestanding, these treaties are complementary and mutually reinforcing.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Most of the States parties to the Covenant, and the industrialized countries in particular, are faced with the task of adapting their social and economic policies to the ageing of their populations, especially as regards social security. In the developing countries, the absence or deficiencies of social security coverage are being aggravated by the emigration of the younger members of the population and the consequent weakening of the traditional role of the family, the main support of older people.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Older persons
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The term "migrant workers in an irregular situation" is defined in article 5 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (the Convention), which specifies that migrant workers or members of their families are considered as non-documented or in an irregular situation if they are not authorized to enter, to stay or to engage in a remunerated activity in the State of employment pursuant to the law of that State and to international agreements to which it is a party.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The situation of migrant workers may be irregular either because they have entered the State of employment in an unauthorized way and are thus not authorized to stay, reside or work in that State, or because they overstay the period or otherwise violate the conditions of their authorized stay. Regular migrants may also lose their status through no fault of their own due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances affecting them or family members. The Committee emphasizes that whatever the modalities of their stay, migrant workers can never be deprived of their fundamental rights, as protected under Part III of the Convention, by virtue of their irregular situation.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The economic, social and cultural rights of older persons 1995, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- In accordance with article 10, paragraph 1, of the Covenant and recommendations 25 and 29 of the International Plan of Action on Ageing, States parties should make all the necessary efforts to support, protect and strengthen the family and help it, in accordance with each society's system of cultural values, to respond to the needs of its dependent ageing members. Recommendation 29 encourages Governments and non-governmental organizations to establish social services to support the whole family when there are elderly people at home and to implement measures especially for low-income families who wish to keep elderly people at home. This assistance should also be provided for persons living alone or elderly couples wishing to remain at home.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Older persons
- Year
- 1995
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- The rights guaranteed to migrants in an irregular situation in other international human rights treaties often have a wider scope than their counterparts in Part III of the Convention. These treaties also contain additional rights. The rights guaranteed in those treaties generally apply to everyone, including migrants and other non-nationals, without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, including immigration status.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Forced evictions 1997, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- The practice of forced evictions is widespread and affects persons in both developed and developing countries. Owing to the interrelationship and interdependency which exist among all human rights, forced evictions frequently violate other human rights. Thus, while manifestly breaching the rights enshrined in the Covenant, the practice of forced evictions may also result in violations of civil and political rights, such as the right to life, the right to security of the person, the right to non interference with privacy, family and home and the right to the peaceful enjoyment of possessions.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 1997
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel and degrading forms of punishment 2006, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The preamble to the Convention upholds the family as "the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members and particularly children". The Convention requires States to respect and support families. There is no conflict whatsoever with States' obligation to ensure that the human dignity and physical integrity of children within the family receive full protection alongside other family members.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Similarly, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights also provides for a broader range of rights, including the right to strike, the right to freely enter marriage, the right to maternity protection, the right to special protection of children and adolescents, the right to an adequate standard of living including adequate food and clothing, and certain cultural rights. The Convention does not provide for such rights only in relation to migrant workers in a regular situation. In addition, the Covenant recognizes the rights to work, to vocational guidance and training, to form trade unions, to protection of the family, to housing, and to participate in cultural life. The Convention recognizes these rights in relation to migrant workers in a regular situation and members of their families. In addition, most of the economic, social and cultural rights in Part III of the Convention have a narrower scope than their counterparts in the Covenant.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Implementing child rights in early childhood 2006, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Training for rights in early childhood. Knowledge and expertise about early childhood are not static but change over time. This is due variously to social trends impacting on the lives of young children, their parents and other caregivers, changing policies and priorities for their care and education, innovations in childcare, curricula and pedagogy, as well as the emergence of new research. Implementing child rights in early childhood sets challenges for all those responsible for children, as well as for children themselves as they gain an understanding of their role in their families, schools and communities. States parties are encouraged to undertake systematic child rights training for children and their parents, as well as for all professionals working for and with children, in particular parliamentarians, judges, magistrates, lawyers, law enforcement officials, civil servants, personnel in institutions and places of detention for children, teachers, health personnel, social workers and local leaders. Furthermore, the Committee urges States parties to conduct awareness raising campaigns for the public at large.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Youth
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Implementing child rights in early childhood 2006, para. 36b
- Paragraph text
- Children without families (art. 20 and 21). Children's rights to development are at serious risk when they are orphaned, abandoned or deprived of family care or when they suffer long term disruptions to relationships or separations (e.g. due to natural disasters or other emergencies, epidemics such as HIV/AIDS, parental imprisonment, armed conflicts, wars and forced migration). These adversities will impact on children differently depending on their personal resilience, their age and their circumstances, as well as the availability of wider sources of support and alternative care. Research suggests that low quality institutional care is unlikely to promote healthy physical and psychological development and can have serious negative consequences for long term social adjustment, especially for children under 3 but also for children under 5 years old. To the extent that alternative care is required, early placement in family based or family like care is more likely to produce positive outcomes for young children. States parties are encouraged to invest in and support forms of alternative care that can ensure security, continuity of care and affection, and the opportunity for young children to form long term attachments based on mutual trust and respect, for example through fostering, adoption and support for members of extended families. Where adoption is envisaged "the best interests of the child shall be the paramount consideration" (art. 21), not just "a primary consideration" (art. 3), systematically bear in mind and respecting all relevant rights of the child and obligations of States parties set out elsewhere in the Convention and recalled in the present general comment;
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel and degrading forms of punishment 2006, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- In its examination of reports, the Committee has noted that in many States there are explicit legal provisions in criminal and/or civil (family) codes that provide parents and other carers with a defence or justification for using some degree of violence in "disciplining" children. For example, the defence of "lawful", "reasonable" or "moderate" chastisement or correction has formed part of English common law for centuries, as has a "right of correction" in French law. At one time in many States the same defence was also available to justify the chastisement of wives by their husbands and of slaves, servants and apprentices by their masters. The Committee emphasizes that the Convention requires the removal of any provisions (in statute or common - case law) that allow some degree of violence against children (e.g. "reasonable" or "moderate" chastisement or correction), in their homes/families or in any other setting.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel and degrading forms of punishment 2006, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Article 37 of the Convention requires States to ensure that "no child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment". This is complemented and extended by article 19, which requires States to "take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child". There is no ambiguity: "all forms of physical or mental violence" does not leave room for any level of legalized violence against children. 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.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel and degrading forms of punishment 2006, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- The Committee expects States to include in their periodic reports under the Convention information on the measures taken to prohibit and prevent all corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment in the family and all other settings, including on related awareness-raising activities and promotion of positive, non-violent relationships and on the State's evaluation of progress towards achieving full respect for children's rights to protection from all forms of violence. The Committee also encourages United Nations agencies, national human rights institutions, NGOs and other competent bodies to provide it with relevant information on the legal status and prevalence of corporal punishment and progress towards its elimination.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Rights of migrant workers in an irregular situation and members of their families 2013, para. 9
- Paragraph text
- For example, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides for a wider scope of protection regarding the right of peaceful assembly, the right to freely enter marriage and to equality of rights and responsibilities of spouses, the right of every child to special protection, the right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law, and minority rights. In addition, other rights enshrined in the Covenant apply to all migrant workers, whether in a regular or an irregular situation, such as the right to form associations and trade unions and the right to protection of the family, whereas the Convention makes a distinction between migrant workers in a regular situation and those in an irregular situation. Both the Covenant and the Convention protect the right to freedom of movement and to free choice of residence of migrants insofar as they are lawfully within the territory of a State party.
- Body
- Committee on Migrant Workers
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel and degrading forms of punishment 2006, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- An Advisory Opinion of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, on the Legal Status and Human Rights of the Child (2002) holds that the States parties to the American Convention on Human Rights "are under the obligation … to adopt all positive measures required to ensure protection of children against mistreatment, whether in their relations with public authorities, or in relations among individuals or with non-governmental entities". The Court quotes provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, conclusions of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and also judgements of the European Court of Human Rights relating to States' obligations to protect children from violence, including within the family. The Court concludes that "the State has the duty to adopt positive measures to fully ensure effective exercise of the rights of the child".
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel and degrading forms of punishment 2006, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- The Committee believes that implementation of the prohibition of all corporal punishment requires awareness-raising, guidance and training (see paragraph 45 et seq. below) for all those involved. This must ensure that the law operates in the best interests of the affected children - in particular when parents or other close family members are the perpetrators. The first purpose of law reform to prohibit corporal punishment of children within the family is prevention: to prevent violence against children by changing attitudes and practice, underlining children's right to equal protection and providing an unambiguous foundation for child protection and for the promotion of positive, non-violent and participatory forms of child rearing.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel and degrading forms of punishment 2006, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Since it began examining States parties' reports the Committee has recommended prohibition of all corporal punishment, in the family and other settings, to more than 130 States in all continents. The Committee is encouraged that a growing number of States are taking appropriate legislative and other measures to assert children's right to respect for their human dignity and physical integrity and to equal protection under the law. The Committee understands that by 2006, more than 100 States had prohibited corporal punishment in their schools and penal systems for children. A growing number have completed prohibition in the home and family and all forms of alternative care.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel and degrading forms of punishment 2006, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- Therefore States parties should monitor their progress towards eliminating corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment and thus realizing children's right to protection. Research using interviews with children, their parents and other carers, in conditions of confidentiality and with appropriate ethical safeguards, is essential in order to accurately assess the prevalence of these forms of violence within the family and attitudes to them. The Committee encourages every State to carry out/commission such research, as far as possible with groups representative of the whole population, to provide baseline information and then at regular intervals to measure progress. The results of this research can also provide valuable guidance for the development of universal and targeted awareness-raising campaigns and training for professionals working with or for children.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Implementing child rights in early childhood 2006, para. 36i
- Paragraph text
- Deviant behaviour and lawbreaking (art. 40). Under no circumstances should young children (defined as under 8 years old; see paragraph 4) be included in legal definitions of minimum age of criminal responsibility. Young children who misbehave or violate laws require sympathetic help and understanding, with the goal of increasing their capacities for personal control, social empathy and conflict resolution. States parties should ensure that parents/caregivers are provided adequate support and training to fulfil their responsibilities (art. 18) and that young children have access to quality early childhood education and care, and (where appropriate) specialist guidance/therapies.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Youth
- Year
- 2006
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph