A/RES/71/175
Child, early and forced marriage
Taking note of the agreed conclusions adopted by the Commission on the
Status of Women at its fifty-eighth 10 and sixtieth 11 sessions,
Welcoming the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 12
and 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,
Noting with appreciation the launch of the United Nations Population FundUnited Nations Children’s Fund Global Programme to Accelerate Ac tion to End
Child Marriage, in March 2016, as well as regional, national and subnational
initiatives to end child, early and forced marriage, including the African Union
Campaign to End Child Marriage and the Regional Action Plan to End Child
Marriage in South Asia, and further encouraging coordinated approaches to action at
all levels,
Taking note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General, 13 which
summarizes progress towards ending child, early and forced marriage worldwide,
Expressing concern about the continued prevalence of child, early and forced
marriage worldwide, including the fact that there are still approximately 15 million
girls married every year before they reach 18 years of age and that more than
720 million women and girls alive today were married before their eighteenth
birthday,
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 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,
Noting with concern that poverty, insecurity and lack of education are among
the root causes of child, early and forced marriage, that armed conflict and
humanitarian emergencies are among the exacerbating factors 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,
Noting with concern also that deep-rooted gender inequalities and stereotypes,
harmful practices, perceptions and customs, and discriminatory norms are not only
obstacles to the full enjoyment of human rights and the empowerment of all women
and girls but are also among the root causes of child, early and force d marriage, and
that the persistence of child, early and forced marriage places children, in particular
the girl child, at greater risk of being exposed to and encountering various forms of
discrimination and violence throughout their lives,
Recognizing that child, early and forced marriage undermines women’s and
girls’ autonomy and decision-making in all aspects of their lives and also that the
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10
Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2014, Supplement No. 7 (E/2014/27), chap. I,
sect. A.
11
Ibid., 2016, Supplement No. 7 (E/2016/27), chap. I, sect. A.
12
Resolution 70/1.
13
A/71/253.
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