Prohibiting corporal punishment of children in the Caribbean ...

Faith based support forprohibitionSince the UN Secretary General’s global Studyon Violence against Children (2006), a strongand growing movement of religious leaders andcommunities have pledged their support forthe prohibition and elimination of all corporalpunishment of children. Violence againstchildren is incompatible with the core values ofrespect for human dignity, compassion, justice,equality and non-violence which most religionsprofess and religious leaders worldwide areactively engaged in the movement to end it.The Kyoto DeclarationOne of the most significant faith-based actions supporting the recommendations of the UN Study is “A Multi-religiousCommitment to Confront Violence against Children” (the Kyoto Declaration, available at www.churchesfornon-violence.org).In 2006, Religions for Peace in partnership with UNICEF convened a global consultation of religious leaders and expertsin Toledo, Spain, to endorse the recommendations of the Study and provide a religious perspective. Participants from30 countries attended, from the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and other religions. Leadersacknowledged that their religions had not always fully upheld their obligations to protect children from violence and thatdenial and silence had increased children’s vulnerability to violence and suffering:“Even as we have not fully lived up to our responsibilities in this regard, we believe that religious communities must bepart of the solution to eradicating violence against children, and we commit ourselves to take leadership in our religiouscommunities and the broader society.”A strong call was made to reject all forms of violence against children including corporal punishment. This was made explicitin the declaration formally adopted at the Eighth World Assembly of Religions for Peace in Kyoto, Japan 2006. Article 6 states:“We call upon our governments to adopt legislation to prohibit all forms of violence against children, including corporalpunishment, and to ensure the full rights of children, consistent with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and otherinternational and regional agreements.”The Kyoto Declaration urges religious communities to work actively to change attitudes and practices that perpetuate violenceagainst children. It acknowledges that some religious groups use their scriptures and texts to justify and condone corporalpunishment of children and recommends that religious texts be used to promote the dignity of the child and to end violentpunishment.“We will promote the child as a person with rights and dignity, using our religious texts to provide good examples that canhelp adults to stop using violence in dealing with children.”18 Prohibiting corporal punishment of children in the Caribbean: