Child, early and forced marriage
A/RES/69/156
Recognizing further that child, early and forced marriage undermines women’s
and girls’ autonomy and decision-making in all aspects of their lives and continues
to be an impediment to improvements in the education and the economic and social
status of women and girls in all parts of the world and that the empowerment of and
investment in women and girls is critical for economic growth, including the
eradication of poverty, as well as the meaningful participation of girls in all
decisions that affect them,
Noting with concern that child, early and forced marriage disproportionally
affects girls who have received little or no formal education and is itself a
significant obstacle to educational opportunities for girls and young women, in
particular girls who are forced to drop out of school owing to marriage and/or
childbirth, and recognizing that educational opportunities are directly related to
women’s and girls’ empowerment, employment and economic opportunities and to
their active participation in economic, social and cultural development, governance
and decision-making,
Recognizing that child, early and forced marriage constitutes a serious threat to
multiple aspects of the physical and psychological health of women and girls,
including but not limited to their sexual and reproductive health, significantly
increasing the risk of early, frequent and unintended pregnancy, maternal and
newborn mortality and morbidity, obstetric fistula and sexually transmitted
infections, including HIV/AIDS, as well as increasing vulnerability to all forms of
violence, and that every girl and woman at risk of or affected by these practices
must have equal access to quality services such as education, counselling, shelter
and other social services, psychological, sexual and reproductive health-care
services and medical care,
1.
Urges all States to enact, enforce and uphold laws and policies aimed at
preventing and ending child, early and forced marriage and protecting those at risk
and to ensure that marriage is entered into only with the informed, free and full
consent of the intending spouses;
2.
Calls upon 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 the strengthening of child protection systems, protection
mechanisms such as safe shelters, access to justice and the sharing of best practices
across borders;
3.
Calls upon States and the international community to create an
environment in which the well-being of women and girls is ensured by, inter alia,
cooperating, supporting and participating in efforts for the eradication of extreme
poverty, and reaffirms that investment in women and girls and the protection of their
rights are among the most effective ways to end the practice of child, early and
forced marriage;
4.
Calls upon States to promote and protect the right of women and girls to
education through enhanced emphasis on quality education, including catch-up and
literacy education for those who have not received formal education, while
recognizing that education is one of the most effective ways to prevent and end
child, early and forced marriage and to help married women and girls to make more
informed choices about their lives;
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