E/2007/27 E/CN.6/2007/9 Concerned that forced marriage can involve threatening behaviour, abduction, imprisonment, physical, psychological and sexual violence, rape, and even murder, Recognizing that women who marry at a young age are more likely to experience domestic violence than women who marry at an older age resulting from gender inequalities, in particular their lack of status and power in the marriage and household, Recognizing also that forced marriage of the girl child and the trend towards early sexual experience, combined with the lack of information, undermines national and international efforts to fight HIV/AIDS and to improve maternal and child health, chances for survival and welfare, 1. Urges States: (a) To enact and strictly enforce laws to ensure that marriage is entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses and, in addition, to enact and strictly enforce laws concerning the minimum legal age of consent and the minimum age for marriage and to raise the minimum age for marriage where necessary; (b) To adopt and enforce requirements for registration of birth and marriage with the aim of definitively determining age at the time of marriage; (c) To include in their reports to human rights treaty bodies, as appropriate, information on national efforts to address this problem; (d) To ensure that the right of children to express themselves and participate in all matters affecting them, in accordance with their age and maturity, is fully and equally enjoyed by girls; (e) To ensure that gender inequalities in primary and secondary education are eliminated, by the earliest possible date, and at all educational levels by 2015, and to create an enabling environment in order to retain girls and young women in school; (f) To increase resources at all levels, particularly in the education and health sectors, to enable young people, especially girls, to gain the knowledge, attitudes and skills that are needed to prevent HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections and to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including sexual and reproductive health; (g) To develop and implement at all levels a multisectoral, multidisciplinary, comprehensive and integrated strategy of prevention of forced marriage and support to victims who have entered into such marriage, including the training of, inter alia, health workers, teachers, law enforcement officials, military personnel, social workers, judicial personnel, community leaders and the media; (h) To promote policies and measures aimed at the economic empowerment of young women, especially those living in rural and remote areas, inter alia, by increasing their access to economic resources, enhancing the employability of young women, developing their skills and broadening their access to career choices, as well as by facilitating better reconciliation of work and family life; (i) To monitor progress in efforts to address forced marriage through the collection and analysis of age- and sex-disaggregated data, and to disseminate information on the causes and consequences of such marriage; 30 07-28248