UN passes historic resolution on ending child marriage

A landmark resolution calling for a ban on child marriage was agreed on 21 November during the 69th session of the General Assembly. The resolution marks the first time that UN Member States have agreed upon substantive recommendations for the steps that countries, international organisations and others must take to address the problem of child, early and forced marriage.

The UN Resolution on Child, Early and Forced Marriage, supported by 116 Member States was introduced and led by the Governments of Canada and Zambia and builds on last year’s resolutions in the General Assembly and Human Rights Council, which were procedural resolutions calling for reports and further consideration of the issue.

The issue is that every year, an estimated 15 million girls aged under 18 are married worldwide. In the developing world, one in nine girls is married before her 15th birthday and some child brides are as young as eight or nine. These girls have very little or no say in the matter, they are robbed of their childhood, denied their rights to health education and security.

Among other a number of requests, the resolution calls on states, with the participation of relevant stakeholders, including girls, religious and community leaders, civil society, women’s and human rights groups, men and boys, and youth organizations, to develop and implement holistic, comprehensive and coordinated responses and strategies to eliminate child, early and forced marriage and to support already married girls, adolescents, and women including through strengthening of child protection systems, protection mechanisms such as safe shelters, access to justice and the sharing of best practices across borders.

This resolution marks a major breakthrough in the child marriage campaign, which Mrs Graça Machel, PMNCH Board Chair and The Elders have been leading through Girls Not Brides. A global partnership of over 400 civil society organizations, committed to ending child marriage and enabling girls to fulfill their potential, Girls Not Brides issued a release about the resolution stating, “This is a firm statement from the international community that we have to act on child marriage.”