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Human rights committee condemns smacking
Human rights committee condemns smacking
John Carvel, social affairs editor Wednesday September 22, 2004 The Guardian The government came under growing pressure yesterday to take away parents' legal authority to smack their children, after the parliamentary committee of human rights said the practice contravened UN conventions. MPs and peers said the law allowing parents to justify physical punishment as "reasonable chastisement" was incompatible with the UN convention on rights of the child and other international agreements. Their ruling will make it harder for ministers to refuse Labour MPs a free vote on the issue at the report stage of the children bill, due in late October or early November. Anti-smacking campaigners believe they will win a majority unless the government imposes the whip against them. In July ministers accepted a compromise in the Lords which would have allowed parents to administer a light smack, but make them liable to imprisonment if they caused bodily harm to their child. Children's charities said the distinction was legally untenable and called for common assault on children to be treated in the same way as it is for adults. The parliamentary committee said the amendment might for the time being satisfy the European convention on human rights, but "there is a risk that it will in future be held to be incompatible". In addition, the continuing availability of the defence of reasonable chastisement was "incompatible with the UK's obligations under the UN convention on the rights of the child, and under other international agreements". Peter Newell, coordinator of the Children Are Unbeatable! Alliance, an umbrella group of 350 anti-smacking organisations, said: "The human rights pressure for full abolition of so-called reasonable chastisement is now overwhelming and our politicians must act. This report gives parliament the green light to amend the children bill to recognise children's equal right to protection from assault. Children are people, albeit smaller and more fragile, with human rights. They are entitled to physical integrity and human dignity, just like the rest of us." Kevin McNamara, a Labour member of the parliamentary committee, said: "Only full abolition of the archaic 'reasonable chastisement' defence will satisfy our human rights obligations to children under UN and other treaties. Parliament should grasp the opportunity provided by the children bill to give children equal legal protection from assault. This is a fundamental human rights principle which we cannot ignore." David Hinchliffe, Labour chairman of the Commons health committee, who is leading the anti-smacking rebellion, said: "Support for equal protection for children is strong in parliament and growing all the time. This important report, setting out that this is an issue of human rights principle, will add to the mounting pressure on ministers to allow a free conscience vote." |
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"Dusty" wrote...
Human rights committee condemns smacking My [current] wife is always telling me to stop smacking. She also tells me to stop slurping. She say's its impolite. But I think that smacking and slurping is a human right. [R] |
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Roger B. wrote:
"Dusty" wrote... Human rights committee condemns smacking My [current] wife is always telling me to stop smacking. She also tells me to stop slurping. She say's its impolite. But I think that smacking and slurping is a human right. [R] Rog you pig! LOL Lori Mc |
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Shattered my image of you, Rog.
"Roger B." wrote in message . .. "Dusty" wrote... Human rights committee condemns smacking My [current] wife is always telling me to stop smacking. She also tells me to stop slurping. She say's its impolite. But I think that smacking and slurping is a human right. [R] |
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