A/RES/69/156
Child, early and forced marriage
Recalling the agreed conclusions adopted by the Commission on the Status of
Women at its fifty-seventh10 and fifty-eighth11 sessions,
Taking note with appreciation of the report of the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights of 2 April 2014 on preventing and
eliminating child, early and forced marriage 12 and its summary report of 18 July
2014 on the panel discussion on preventing and eliminating child, early and forced
marriage, 13 and noting the summary report on the panel discussion held by the
General Assembly on 5 September 2014,
Recognizing that child, early and forced marriage is a harmful practice that
violates, abuses and impairs human rights and is linked to and perpetuates other
harmful practices and human rights violations and that such violations have a
disproportionately negative impact on women and girls, and underscoring the
human rights obligations and commitments of States to promote and protect the
human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls and to prevent and
eliminate the practice of child, early and forced marriage,
Deeply concerned about the continued prevalence of child, early and forced
marriage worldwide, including the fact that approximately 15 million girls are
married every year before they reach 18 years of age and that more than 700 million
women and girls alive today were married before their eighteenth birthday,
Noting with concern that the continued prevalence of child, early and forced
marriage has had a negative impact on the achievement and the overarching aims of
Millennium Development Goals 1 to 6, including in the areas of gender equality and
the empowerment of women and girls, poverty reduction, education, maternal and
child mortality and health, including sexual and reproductive health, and
recognizing that child, early and forced marriage continues to impair sustainable
development, inclusive economic growth and social cohesion,
Noting with concern also that poverty and insecurity are among the root causes
of child, early and forced marriage and that child, early and forced marriage remains
common in rural areas and among the poorest communities, and recognizing that the
immediate alleviation and eventual eradication of extreme poverty must remain a
high priority for the international community,
Recognizing that child, early and forced marriage is itself a barrier to
development and helps to perpetuate the cycle of poverty and that the risk of child,
early and forced marriage is also exacerbated in conflict and humanitarian crisis
situations,
Recognizing also that child, early and forced marriage is inherently linked to
deep-rooted gender inequalities, norms and stereotypes and to harmful practices,
perceptions and customs that are obstacles to the full enjoyment of human rights and
that the persistence of child, early and forced marriage places children, in particular
the girl child, at risk of being exposed to and encountering various forms of
discrimination and violence throughout their lives,
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10
Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2013, Supplement No. 7 (E/2013/27), chap. I,
sect. A.
11
Ibid., 2014, Supplement No. 7 (E/2014/27), chap. I, sect. A.
12
A/HRC/26/22 and Corr.1.
13
A/HRC/27/34.
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