Conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights on article 17 of the European Social Charter and Revised Social Charter

Doc. 11047
2 October 2006

Conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights on article 17 of the European Social Charter and Revised Social Charter
Written question No 496 to the Committee of Ministers

Reply from the Committee of Ministers
adopted at the 974^th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (27 September 2006)

I. Written Question No. 496 by Mme Bargholtz (Doc. 10955)

In conclusions issued by the European Committee of Social Rights between 2003 and July 2005 following examination of states’ reports under article 17 of the European Social Charter or Revised Social Charter, the Committee concluded that the following states, among others, were not in conformity because corporal punishment within the family, and in some cases in other settings, is not prohibited: Poland, France, Slovenia, Slovak Republic, Malta, Spain, Turkey, Czech Republic, Netherlands, United Kingdom.

Mrs Bargholtz

To ask the Committee of Ministers,

What action is the Committee of Ministers taking to ensure that children in these member-states are effectively protected from all corporal punishment in the home and in all other settings, as required by the European Social Charter and Revised Social Charter?

In view of the fact that these conclusions concern the basic protection of the rights of children, whom the human rights mechanisms of the Council of Europe have recognized as particularly vulnerable, what action does the Committee of Ministers propose to take to expedite action?

II. Reply by the Committee of Ministers

1. The Committee of Ministers wishes to inform the Honourable Parliamentarian that following the finding of non-conformity by European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) with respect to a number of countries, these situations have been examined by the Governmental Committee under the European Social Charter. The latter Committee forms part of the Charter’s supervisory mechanism and selects from among the findings of non-conformity, those situations in which it would be appropriate for the Committee of Ministers to make a recommendation to the states concerned.

2. With respect to the findings of non-conformity referred to by the Honourable Parliamentarian, the Governmental Committee examined the measures taken by states, or other relevant developments, as a
follow-up to the ECSR’s conclusions. A number of countries provided information on positive developments, which the Governmental Committee considered that the ECSR should assess before it would take further action. It therefore decided to await the next assessment by the ECSR of national reports from the countries concerned.

3. Finally, the Committee of Ministers draws the attention of the Honourable Parliamentarian to the Council of Europe three-year action programme “Building a Europe for and with Children” (2006-2008), which was launched at a conference organised in Monaco in April this year. This programme aims, inter ali,a at combating all forms of violence against children. Given that the member states of the Council of Europe have entered into numerous commitments under general human rights conventions and specific conventions on children’s rights and that human rights treaties of the Council of Europe (as well as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child) require states to prohibit and fight all forms of violence and ill-treatment of children, the programme will assist member states in fulfilling their obligations under such treaties. It will be done in particular by implementing integrated prevention policies and alerting professional circles and the general public to the problem. The programme will address all forms of violence, wherever it takes place (family, school, resident institutions, the community, media and cyberspace) with a special attention to fighting sexual abuse and corporal punishment. The programme will also focus on new forms of violence stemming from the use of the new information technologies, namely child pornography and grooming via Internet and mobile phones.