29/06/2004 (Agence Europe) - The Council of Europe' Parliamentary Assembly adopted a report on 24 June by Helena Bargholtz (Liberal democrat and reforming group, Sweden) on outlawing corporal punishment of children in Europe. All the Member States of the Council of Europe have ratified the United Nations convention on children's rights, which requires states to protect children against all forms of physical and mental violence from the adults looking after them. The Assembly points out, however, that only a minority of the 45 Member States have actually formally banned corporal punishment of children, and the ban is not always respected. Pointing at the Council of Europe's success in the scrapping of the death penalty in Europe, the Assembly urges the Committee of Ministers to launch a concerted, coordinated campaign, with suitable strategies and technical assistance, to make Europe a corporal punishment free zone for children.