Word count: 437
OOC 1: Drafts 1 and 2 can be found here. I will be submitting this proposal immediately after the passage of
OOC 2, and all stats were accurate as of me posting this OP:
- All member states of the Unutilised Nukes except the United States of America (as well as four non-members: Palestine, the Holy See, the Cook Islands and Niue) have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (the Convention).
- The Useless Newspapers' Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has issued two general comments with at least some focus on corporal punishment. General Comment 8 (2007) targets itself mainly at corporal punishment, which the CRC "defines... as any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light" (paragraph 11). The CRC further asserts that corporal punishment falls under the umbrella of the Convention's bar on "all forms of physical or mental violence" [Article 19] and must therefore be "eliminate[d]" (paragraph 18).
- General Comment 13 (2011) is focused on violence in general, especially Article 19 of the Convention, and says much less about corporal punishment. Yet the CRC reaffirms that "all forms of violence against children, however light, are unacceptable" (paragraph 17, No exceptions) and that "[a]ll corporal punishment" can be classed as physical violence to that effect (paragraph 22, Physical violence) and as a harmful practice (paragraph 29, Harmful practices).
- Examples of the CRC urging nations to enact a blanket ban on corporal punishment in their concluding observations thereto are legion - it admits in Paragraph 5 of its General Comment 8 that it has addressed "more than 130 States in all continents" about this matter (and heaven knows how many more in the decade-and-a-bit since) - and shall not be reproduced here for reasons of space. Suffice to say that the United Kingdom has not "adopt[ed] legislation throughout the State party to remove the “reasonable chastisement” defence and prohibit all corporal punishment in the family and in any other contexts not covered by existing legislation", let alone "[w]ith urgency", 6,751 days on from the CRC's request to that effect. (NationStates was created 6,711 days ago.)
End Corporal Punishment
A resolution to improve worldwidehumansapient and civil rights.Category: Civil RightsStrength: SignificantProposed by: Tinhampton
Reaffirming the principles of GA#7xx "Police Accountability Act," which prohibits on-duty police officers from using excessive force,
Noting that corporal punishment is a form of violence which, despite being disproportionately carried out against children, can affect almost anyone, and
Believing that - for the sake of all inhabitants of the World Assembly's member states, especially the most vulnerable - it is imperative that this body forbid such forms of violence as soon as possible...
The General Assembly hereby:
- defines "corporal punishment" as causing physical harm or pain to any person in order to punish any person, where such punishment is delivered without the consent of either the person harmed or the person intended to be punished,
- requires members to outlaw corporal punishment, and to abolish all defences to the same, where such punishment manifests itself as:
- a school authority or teacher causing physical harm or pain to a child, pupil or student for pedagogy,
- a state, polity, judicial body, or anyone acting on their behalf causing physical harm or pain to any person for judicial punishment, or
- any person otherwise causing physical harm or pain to a child,
- strongly encourages members to forbid corporal punishment in all contexts not listed in Article b,
- mandates that:
- all primary and secondary schools (or equivalent) in each member state educate all of their pupils on Article a, and those contexts in Articles b and c in which that member forbids corporal punishment,
- each member regularly raise awareness of Article a, and those contexts in Articles b and c in which they forbid corporal punishment, among all individuals whose job requires them to regularly interact with children,
- members forbid the guardians of a person without legal competence (including parents of children) from granting consent for that person to be subject to corporal punishment in any context, and that
- all clauses in all contracts in force while this resolution is in effect which have the effect of allowing any direct or indirect party to that contract to be subject to corporal punishment be immediately voided and not enforced by any party,
- clarifies that this resolution does not affect any requirement for any person to engage in reasonable physical activity that harms no other person as a condition of their being employed at any institution or being a student at any school (including, but not limited to, soldiers being required to complete a fitness course at a training camp as a condition of remaining a member of the military they serve in), and
- urges members to promote non-violent ways of raising children.
Co-authors: Greater Cesnica, Feyrisshire