This briefing highlights the human rights imperative to prohibit all violent punishment of children in all East and Southern African states. It summarizes progress so far towards prohibition in each state and what remains to be done. Aiming to promote national action for prohibition, it emphasizes the many immediate opportunities for working to fulfill children’s right to protection in law from all corporal punishment in all settings. Many East and Southern African states are currently reforming legislation related to children and families, creating key opportunities to prohibit corporal punishment. The adoption of commitments to end all violence against children, including specifically corporal punishment, in Africa’s Agenda for Children 2040 and the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, provide additional and immediate contexts for focussing attention on fulfilling this most fundamental obligation under human rights law.
