At the first-ever Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children that took place in Bogota, Colombia on November 7-8, 2024, many countries pledged changes that would ensure that all children would live free from violence. On 12 March 2025, 40 countries made a first-ever joint statement to the Human Rights Council addressing children’s fundamental right to protection from all corporal punishment but Canada was not one of them. As a pathfinding country on ending violence against children, the hope was for Canada to announce its repeal of section 43 of the criminal code, which violates children’s rights to protection, dignity, and physical security, and directly respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #6. However, this did not happen. Canada remains one of the shrinking number of countries in which it is legal to strike a child.
- Read the by the Fraser Mustard Institute for Human Development (FMIHD) Policy Bench on Corporal Punishment and Implications for Legal Reform in Canada [PDF]
- Read the accompanying fact sheet [PDF]
- CCRC Webinar: Canada’s Children Deserve Protection from Violence: A Call to Action. Webinar by Dr. Joan Durrant & Dr. Valerie Michaleson, April 29, 2021
The below statement is from End Corporal Punishment:
On 12 March 2025 40 countries made a first-ever joint statement to the Human Rights Council addressing children’s fundamental right to protection from all corporal punishment. The statement led by the Governments of Costa Rica and Kenya notes the wide-ranging harmful impacts of corporal punishment of children, and its ongoing high prevalence and legality around the world, despite over 20 years of international commitments and human rights recommendations calling for action to end the practice. The statement notes:
‘Almost twenty years ago, the UN Secretary General called for the universal prohibition of all corporal punishment. Multiple treaty bodies and regional mechanisms have also condemned it, recognizing it as a clear violation of children’s human rights. ‘Yet, in over 125 States, corporal punishment remains legally permissible continuing to undermine the human rights, dignity and wellbeing of children.
And encourages all remaining states to prohibit and eliminate all corporal punishment:
‘In light of this overwhelming evidence, we wish to draw attention to this human rights issue and encourage States to take appropriate legislative reforms accompanied by other measures such as awareness-raising and educational initiatives to prohibit and eliminate all corporal punishment of children in all settings.‘We call upon States to also promote non-violent forms of discipline that will uphold children’s dignity, physical integrity, and equal protection under the law.
Read the statement and see the list of 40 supporting States.