WUNRN
UN Human Rights Council Countries Adopt First-Ever
Resolution on Child, Early and Forced Marriage
Over 100 countries supported a resolution on child, early and forced
marriage unanimously adopted by the Human Rights Council, the leading UN body
responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights around the world.
This the first Human Rights Council resolution which specifically addresses
child marriage. It is significant because it recognises child marriage as a
human rights violation and calls for its elimination to be considered in the
post-2015 development agenda. Also notable is that a number of countries with
high rates of child marriage supported its passage.
Photo credit: UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferre
The
resolution recognises child, early and forced marriage as a human rights
violation that “prevents individuals from living their lives free from all
forms of violence” and negatively impacts the “right to education, and the
highest attainable standard of health, including sexual and reproductive
health.”
It
received cross-regional support from 107 different countries, including
countries with high rates of child marriage including Ethiopia, South Sudan,
Sierra Leone, Chad, Guatemala, Honduras and Yemen.
The
Ambassador of Sierra Leone, Yvette Stevenes, introduced the resolution to the Human Rights Council,
stating that “efforts [to end child marriage] need to be strenghtened to
address this breach of human rights of some of the most vulnerable groups in society”.
According to UNICEF, 44% of girls are married before the age of 18 in Sierra
Leone; 18% before the age of 15.
The
resolution is a welcome development in global efforts to prevent and eliminate
the practice of child, early and forced marriage, especially as discussions are
underway to define what a new development agenda for the international
community will look like when the Millennium Development Goals come to an end
in 2015. The resolution recognises that: “the elimination of child, early and force
marriage should be considered in the discussion of the post-2015 development
agenda”.
The
resolution also stresses the value of empowering and investing in women and
girls for “breaking the cycle of gender inequality and discrimination, violence
and poverty” and for bringing about “sustainable development and economic
growth.”
It
acknowledges the multi-faceted impact of child, early and forced marriage on
the “economic, legal, health and social status of women and girls” as well as
“the development of the community as a whole”.
The
Human Rights Council is the leading UN body responsible for the promotion and
protection of human rights around the world. The resolution calls for a panel
discussion on the issue of child, early and forced marriage at an upcoming
session of the Human Rights Council in 2014.
This
resolution comes at a timely moment following the gathering of world leaders
and governments at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly to
discuss priorities for the international community. The two-week long event
already saw several
countries commit to taking an active part in efforts to end child marriage
globally.
In
a recent
report reflecting on a new development agenda, UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon emphasised that to achieve equal rights for women and girls “the
practice of child marriage must be ended everywhere”.
Read
the resolution: English, Français, Español, Arabic.
The
States presenting the resolution were: Argentina, Australia, Austria,
Armenia, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia,
Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chad, Congo, Cuba, Czech
Republic, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Djibouti, DRC,
Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea,
Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti,
Hungary, Honduras, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan,
Kenya, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lebanon, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Morocco, Mozambique, Maldives,
Montenegro, Namibia, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Palestine,
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia,
Singapore, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Timor Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Thailand, Turkey,
United Kingdom, Uganda, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yemen,
Zambia.