|
 Raise
your hand against smacking!
The international campaign "Raise your hand against smacking”,
organized by the Council of Europe, was launched in Zagreb on Sunday
15th of June. By June 2008, 18 of 47 Council of Europe member states
have banned corporal punishment of children at home, at school, at
care institutions or in places of detention by law. The new campaign
aims to abolish corporal punishment of children in all member
states.
By June 2008, 18 of 47 Council of Europe member states have banned
corporal punishment of children at home, at school, at care
institutions or in places of detention by law. This means that
children in 29 member states (Council of Europe) are not protected
against the violation of their physical and psychological integrity.
In other words - corporal punishment of children is still a
widespread phenomena across Europe, and can also be found in
countries that have already a ban. The campaign organized by the
Council of Europe seek to change this reality, and focuses on three
pillars: legal reform, positive parenting and awareness raising –
none of which can be neglected if abolition is to be achieved in
both law and practice.
The objective of the newly launched campaign is to promote a ban in
the remaining member states, and to abolish corporal punishment in
Europe as a whole. This is a concrete follow-up to the
recommendations contained in the United Nations Secretary–General’s
Study on Violence against Children, which has set 2009 as the target
date for achieving universal abolition of corporal punishment.
The launch of the campaign attracted representatives of 24
countries, the Council of Europe, UNICEF, the UN Regional Office for
the Rights of the Child and various NGOs. Jadranka Kosor, Deputy
Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and
Minister of Family, Veterans’ Affairs and Intergenerational
Solidarity, hosted the launch.
The launch was hosted in a children – friendly environment at the
Zagreb Puppet Theater, and monitored by a large group of Croatian
children. Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Ms.
Maud de Boer-Buquicchio and Ms. Jadranka Kosor had the opening and
closing words of the conference, which also contained an informative
debate, a puppet – theatre show and other surprises.
|
