児童に対する暴力撲滅ソリューションズ・サミットシリーズ：児童に対する体罰の禁止に関する木村徹也大使ステートメント
令和3年4月30日
(Check Against Delivery)
Excellencies,
Dear colleagues,
On the occasion of International Day to End Corporal Punishment of Children, Japan is pleased to be a co-sponsor of this event, together with France and Tunisia. As a board member of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children and one of its Pathfinding countries, Japan reaffirms its unwavering commitment to ending violence against children and creating a safer environment for them, including under this particularly difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Every child is entitled to freedom from fear and freedom from want, with an equal opportunity to enjoy all their rights and fully develop their potential. To this end, the international community must first keep its promise: ending all forms of violence against children by 2030, including corporal punishment. Even during the crisis, ending violence is possible. We need to accelerate and scale up our efforts to ensure human security of all children by taking a people-centred, comprehensive, context-specific and prevention-oriented responses that strengthen their protection and empowerment.
It is critically important to create a society where children are protected from corporal punishment in all settings and to provide a safe and supportive environment for childcare. The commitment of governments is essential, and in this regard we welcome the works of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the End Violence Partnership and the Special Representative of Secretary-General on Violence Against Children for their tireless engagement with member states.
In 2019, Japan enacted a law to strengthen measures to prevent child abuse and explicitly prohibit corporal punishment. Following the prohibition of corporal punishment, the Government of Japan developed a document containing information to explain the scope of corporal punishment and its prohibition. As children spend more time at home under the current COVID-19 pandemic and are exposed to higher risk of corporal punishment, the Government is redoubling its efforts to disseminate this information for safe parenting and help parents and caregivers at municipal levels.
Early detection of child abuse is also a key to protect children. To promptly respond to child abuse we are mobilizing local networks and running mechanisms for frequent monitoring of vulnerable children.
Japan is alarmed by the impact of COVID-19 on children and parents placed under already fragile situations. Amidst the pandemic and social instability, safe parenting is a key to keep children safer and maximize children’s life opportunities. In March, we made a contribution of approximately 1.4 million USD to the Fund to End Violence Against Children. Through the assistance, 400,000 parents and children in Uganda and Kenya will receive support for parenting and child safety. Safe parenting will reduce the risks of violence, abuse and exploitation, and contribute to ensuring the right to education, standards of living and human security.
Japan is determined to make every effort to achieve target 16.2 of the SDGs, and to ensure security for all children. We are currently at the final stage of the development of our National Action Plan to End Violence Against Children, in which we identified corporal punishment as one of the priority areas, with children’s voices heard. We will continue to work to end all forms of violence against children and call on other member states to join this effort.
Thank you.
Dear colleagues,
On the occasion of International Day to End Corporal Punishment of Children, Japan is pleased to be a co-sponsor of this event, together with France and Tunisia. As a board member of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children and one of its Pathfinding countries, Japan reaffirms its unwavering commitment to ending violence against children and creating a safer environment for them, including under this particularly difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Every child is entitled to freedom from fear and freedom from want, with an equal opportunity to enjoy all their rights and fully develop their potential. To this end, the international community must first keep its promise: ending all forms of violence against children by 2030, including corporal punishment. Even during the crisis, ending violence is possible. We need to accelerate and scale up our efforts to ensure human security of all children by taking a people-centred, comprehensive, context-specific and prevention-oriented responses that strengthen their protection and empowerment.
It is critically important to create a society where children are protected from corporal punishment in all settings and to provide a safe and supportive environment for childcare. The commitment of governments is essential, and in this regard we welcome the works of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the End Violence Partnership and the Special Representative of Secretary-General on Violence Against Children for their tireless engagement with member states.
In 2019, Japan enacted a law to strengthen measures to prevent child abuse and explicitly prohibit corporal punishment. Following the prohibition of corporal punishment, the Government of Japan developed a document containing information to explain the scope of corporal punishment and its prohibition. As children spend more time at home under the current COVID-19 pandemic and are exposed to higher risk of corporal punishment, the Government is redoubling its efforts to disseminate this information for safe parenting and help parents and caregivers at municipal levels.
Early detection of child abuse is also a key to protect children. To promptly respond to child abuse we are mobilizing local networks and running mechanisms for frequent monitoring of vulnerable children.
Japan is alarmed by the impact of COVID-19 on children and parents placed under already fragile situations. Amidst the pandemic and social instability, safe parenting is a key to keep children safer and maximize children’s life opportunities. In March, we made a contribution of approximately 1.4 million USD to the Fund to End Violence Against Children. Through the assistance, 400,000 parents and children in Uganda and Kenya will receive support for parenting and child safety. Safe parenting will reduce the risks of violence, abuse and exploitation, and contribute to ensuring the right to education, standards of living and human security.
Japan is determined to make every effort to achieve target 16.2 of the SDGs, and to ensure security for all children. We are currently at the final stage of the development of our National Action Plan to End Violence Against Children, in which we identified corporal punishment as one of the priority areas, with children’s voices heard. We will continue to work to end all forms of violence against children and call on other member states to join this effort.
Thank you.