Scotland has been named and shamed as one of the few countries in Europe which fails to stop parents smacking their children.

An influential UN committee has called for the prohibition of smacking, and the elimination of the "general acceptance" of corporal punishment in child-rearing in the UK.

The findings were immediately backed by Scotland’s commissioner for children and young people who said the Scottish Government should remove the defence of justifiable assault for anyone accused of smacking a child.

The UK is one of only five European nations not to have enacted a ban after 20 countries formally abolished laws allowing over the past three years.

Last month the Church of Scotland added its voice to calls for a ban on physical punishment of children, arguing this would not create a new criminal offence, but would simply mean adults and children had the same legal protection against violence.

The UN committee on the Rights of the Child has published findings from the latest of its regular reviews of how well individual countries are doing at defending and protecting children's rights.

Its report on Britain repeats the call the committee has made before for Westminster and devolved parliaments to prohibit all corporal punishment in the family "as a matter of priority," and adds that the UK should "strengthen its efforts to promote positive and non-violent forms of discipline ... with a view to eliminating the general acceptance of the use of corporal punishment in child-rearing."

The report also chastises the UK Government for fiscal policies which it says are contributing to child poverty and inequality. It says more should be done to tackle discrimination against certain groups, including Muslim and Roma children and calls for more help for children in care and young people with mental health problems.

And while the committee acknowledges that the Scottish Government is currently consulting on a change, it says the age of legal responsibility in UK nations is too low.

But Tam Baillie, Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People (SCCYP), said the law on smacking was an urgently needed change which the Scottish Parliament could also implement.

"There is very strong evidence now that physical chastisement is not good for children's wellbeing - and rather than being effective, leads to aggressive and anti-social behaviour in children.

"The UN Committee has repeated its call to the UK Government to give children some protection," he said. "In Scotland we are looking for the removal of the defence of 'justifiable assault'. It is not about punishing parents it is about providing the same protection to children as we do to adults."

Mr Baillie said the Scottish parliament could change the law, not with a view to prosecuting parents but bringing about a change of culture and promoting positive parenting.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government does not support physical punishment and does not consider it effective. We have concerns that an outright ban could lead to the criminalisation of parents for lightly smacking their children.”

Meanwhile at the annual conference of the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland, in Glasgow today, the Children's Commissioner and new Social Security Minister Jeane Freeman shared a platform to debate how Holyrood might use new welfare powers to help children.

John Dickie, Director of CPAG in Scotland said: "Recent years have seen UK welfare reforms that have slashed the support available to ordinary families, and too often undermined the dignity and rights of children and adults alike.

"The devolution of new social security powers creates a real opportunity to build dignity into the devolved benefits system and ensure families get the financial support they need so that all Scotland's children enjoy their right to an adequate standard of living under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child."