A/RES/79/158 Child, early and forced marriage together with the relevant Optional Protocols thereto, 8 as well as other relevant human rights instruments, and recalling the Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages, 9 Reaffirming the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, 10 the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 11 which will mark its thirtieth year in 2025, as well as the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, which marks its thirtieth year in 2024, 12 and the outcome documents of their review conferences, while taking note of the relevant agreed conclusions of the Commission on the Status of Women, Reaffirming also the commitment to eliminate child, early and forced marriage in the Pact for the Future, 13 Reaffirming further the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 14 noting the integrated nature of the 2030 Agenda and the range of Goals and targets relevant to eliminating child, early and forced marriage, including target 5.3, and its pledge to leave no one behind, and recommitting to endeavouring to reach the furthest behind first and to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, as well as their attainment and full enjoyment of all human rights, which are essential to achieving sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth and sustainable development, Taking note with appreciation of the ongoing United Nations Population Fund and United Nations Children’s Fund Global Programme to End Child Marriage, as well as international, regional, national and subnational instruments, mechanisms and initiatives to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage, including the African Union Campaign to End Child Marriage, the Southern African Development Community Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage and Protecting Children Already in Marriage, the Regional Action Plan to End Child Marr iage in South Asia, the Joint Inter-Agency Programme to End Child Marriage and Early Unions in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Regional Action Forum to End Child Marriage in the Arab States/Middle East and North Africa, and further encouraging coor dinated and comprehensive approaches to action at all levels and across sectors, Recognizing that child, early and forced marriage is a harmful practice that violates, abuses or impairs human rights and is linked to and perpetuates other harmful practices and human rights violations and abuses, and that such violations and abuses have a disproportionately negative impact on women and girls, particularly those living in vulnerable situations and hard-to-reach areas, putting them, inter alia, at heightened risk of sexual and gender-based violence, threatening girls’ education and future economic opportunities as well as their physical and mental health, and underscoring the human rights obligations and commitments of States to respect, promote, protect and fulfil the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all women and girls and to prevent, address and eliminate the practice of child, early and forced marriage, __________________ Ibid., vols. 2171, 2173 and 2983, No. 27531; ibid., vol. 2131, No. 20378; and ibid., vol. 2518, No. 44910. 9 Ibid., vol. 521, No. 7525. 10 A/CONF.157/24 (Part I), chap. III. 11 Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 4 –15 September 1995 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.96.IV.13), chap. I, resolution 1, annexes I and II. 12 Report of the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, 5 –13 September 1994 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.95.XIII.18), chap. I, resolution 1, annex. 13 Resolution 79/1. 14 Resolution 70/1. 8 2/15 24-24151