Ban smacking, urges UN

SMACKING children should be banned from all areas of life in France, including the heart of the family, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has urged.

The lack of a law to ban smacking children is part of a number of criticisms of human rights, in particular those of children, in a new report on France by the UN body.

Discrimination against gypsies and the poor treatment of disabled children were also highlighted.

The report asks that France ban corporal punishment “in all areas including the heart of the family, from schools, nurseries and in alternative healthcare”.

In March last year, France was criticised by the Council of Europe for the lack of a ban on smacking, but seven out of ten people in the country are opposed to such a measure.

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French say "non" to smacking ban

The organisation said it was particularly concerned about the treatment of disabled children in institutions in France, and called for a ban on “packing” - the practice of tightly wrapping autistic children in cold wet cloth.

It also asked that France remove legal obstacles to children knowing the identities of their biological parents in the cases where they were immediately given up for adoption.

The law currently allows for children to be born “né sous X”, allowing the mother to guard her anonymity, something that cannot be lifted without her consent.

The report also highlighted “the persistence of racial discrimination and stigmatisation” of Roma children and the “worrying” condition of migrant children, particularly those living in the Jungle camp in Calais.

A member of the UN group Hynd Ayoubi Idrissi told a press conference that there was a gap between the behaviour being ordered by the State and what was being carried out on the ground.

Photo:Flickr/Emily