The Kyoto Declaration

The Kyoto Declaration recommends that religious communities and leaders:

1. Create awareness. Create greater awareness in religious communities about the impact of all forms of violence against children. Actively work to change attitudes and practices that perpetuate violence – such as corporal punishment, emotional and sexual violence – in homes, families, institutions and communities.

2. Promote the child as a person with rights and dignity. Use religious texts to provide good examples to help adults stop using violence in dealing with children.

3. Teach non-violent forms of discipline and education. Make available education and training for parents, teachers, religious leaders and others who work with children to find non-violent forms of discipline and education.

4. Raise awareness of children’s rights. Develop curricula to use in theological training and parental education to raise awareness about child rights and ways to eliminate the use of violence.

5. Inter-religious cooperation. Make use of the synergies among religious communities to promote methodologies, experiences and practices in preventing violence against children.

6. Adopt legislation to prohibit violence against children. Advocate for the adoption and implementation of legislation to prohibit all forms of violence against children, including corporal punishment, and to ensure the full rights of children consistent with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international and regional agreements.

7. Create public awareness. Use special days, such as the International Day of the Child, to bring public and media attention to child rights issues, particularly violence against children.