A/HRC/19/64
Prohibition of violence
The state has an explicit obligation to secure children‘s right to protection from all forms of
violence, however mild. Appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational
measures should be taken to prohibit all violence against children at all times and in all
settings and to render protection to all children within the state‘s jurisdiction. Legal
defences and authorisations for any form of violence, including for the purposes of
correction, discipline or punishment, within or outside families, should be repealed. w
Prohibition should imperatively cover:
a.
all forms of sexual violence and abuse, corruption of children and solicitation
of children for sexual purposes;
b.
all forms of exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child
pornography, sexual exploitation in travel and tourism, trafficking, sale of children, illegal
adoption, forced labour or services, slavery and practices similar to it, removal of organs,
for any purpose or in any form;x
c.
all forms of exploitation of children through the use of new technologies;
d.
all harmful traditional or customary practices, such as early or forced
marriage, honour killing and female genital mutilation; e. exposure of children to violent or
harmful content, irrespective of its origin and through any medium;
f.
all forms of violence in residential institutions;y
g.
all forms of violence in school;
h.
all corporal punishment and all other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment of children, both physical and psychological; z
i.
exposure of children to violence within the families and home.
The role of corporate actors
Necessary legislative or other measures should be taken to ensure that legal persons can be
held liable for offences established pursuant to Article 26 of the Council of Europe
Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
(CETS No. 201).
w
x
y
z
Refer to European Commission of Human Rights, admissibility decision in Seven Individuals v.
Sweden, 1982, application No.8811/79; European Court of Human Rights, Tyrer v. the United
Kingdom, 1978; Campbell and Cosans v. the United Kingdom, 1982; A. v. the United Kingdom,
1998; admissibility decision in Philip Williamson and Others v. the United Kingdom, 2000,
application No. 55211/00.
Also refer to the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings
(CETS No. 197, 2005/2008), the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against
Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (CETS No. 201), Articles 32, 34, 35, 36 of the UNCRC and
the Palermo Protocol, as well as the International Labour Organisation Convention concerning the
Minimum Age for Admission to Employment and Work (ILO C.138) and the Convention concerning
the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour (ILO C.
182).
Refer to Recommendation Rec(2005)5 of the Committee of Ministers on the rights of children living
in residential institutions.
See footnote 22. Also refer to European Committee of Social Rights, General observations regarding
Articles 7 (paragraph 10) and 17, Conclusions XV-2, Vol. 1, General introduction, p. 26.
81
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents