Children, the ten good news that concern them all over the world in this 2022 that is ending

ROME – Despite the difficulties that children are forced to experience in many parts of the world, from Ukraine to Somalia, due to bombs or hunger, Human Rights Watch underlines how 2022 was also an important year for the progress made in the field of protecting the rights of the little ones.

Prohibition of corporal punishment. Starting from the African continent, Zambia and Mauritius have this year banned any kind of physical punishment against children. With these reforms, the two states join the list of other countries in the world that prohibit any form of educational violence against children, where a child is defined as a person under the age of eighteen. Around the world, sixty-five countries have a law that protects the rights of minors, while in Africa there are a total of twelve states. The Comoros Islands have banned corporal punishment at school while Cuba has also banned it at home and in extra-family assistance centres.

Early marriages. Cuba, England, Mauritius, Wales and Zambia have banned child marriages. More precisely: England, Mauritius and Wales have eliminated from their codes the exceptions that allowed a minor to marry, while the new family code of Cuba has raised the age of marriage from fourteen to eighteen.

Intersex children. There World Professional Association for Transgender Health has called for all medically unnecessary surgery on intersex children to be postponed until they can decide for themselves. Children born with too large a clitoris or children with a very small penis and female organs: intersex children escape the traditional classifications of male and female and are often subjected to very heavy medical treatments precisely with the aim of defining their gender.

Sex education. In response to student protests, the Polish president decided to veto a bill that was intended to limit access to sex education and non-discrimination education courses in schools.

Children’s privacy. Several governments and just as many companies have opted out of online tracking of learning products, to protect the privacy of millions of children during online lessons. The countries that have decided to legislate in this direction are Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Pakistan, Japan and the United States.

Stop the hopeless convictions for minors. In the United States, the Supreme Courts of New Jersey, Tennessee and North Carolina ruled that extreme sentences, i.e. life, for minors are unconstitutional. The judges, amid controversy, decided that the sentences can undergo a review after twenty years because no one can know how a young person, even if he commits a crime, grows and evolves and therefore must be evaluated when he can be ready to reintegrate into society.

Safe schools. Colombia, Tunisia and the Republic of Congo have approved the “Declaration on Safe Schools”, ie they will henceforth undertake to protect schools from armed conflicts and not to use schools for military purposes. A total of 116 countries have adopted this Declaration, which is an intergovernmental political commitment approved in Oslo in May 2015.

The repatriation of minors from camps in North-East Syria. The repatriation of children from detention camps in northeastern Syria continues. These are minors who belong to families suspected of having ties to the Islamic State guerrillas. In 2022, three hundred minors were returned to their countries of origin: Germany, France, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Russia, the United Kingdom and Tajikistan.

Stop explosives in inhabited places. In Dublin, eighty-two countries pledged to avoid the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Bombs, bullets and rockets are still today the main cause of victims among children in armed conflicts.

Stop child soldiers. Nigeria and Burkina Faso have agreed to end the military detention of children suspected of being involved in armed groups and will pledge to ensure that children are adequately supported to reintegrate into society. The Houthis in Yemen have signed an action plan to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers, the killing and maiming of young children, and attacks on schools and hospitals.