Schools Should Ban Corporal Punishment, Teach Rights

JEDDAH - The Third Arab ISPCAN Regional Conference on Child Protection: Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect in the Arab Countries, which conclude in Riyadh on Wednesday, recommended that schools should ban corporal punishment and teach child rights.

Delegates said there was a need to teach children their rights to help them defend themselves against abuse and violence. The recommendations included the need to teach the principles of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child in classrooms.

The final session, chaired by the conference coordinator, Dr Maha Al Muneef, was attended by over 1,500 delegates from across the Arab world.

It was also recommended that corporal punishment should not only be prohibited in classrooms, but also discouraged in homes and communities.