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Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights ... 2017, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- States parties should adopt measures directed at facilitating the participation of all children in the context of international migration in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies that could directly or indirectly affect them, as individuals or a group, including in the fields of social policies and social services. Initiatives should be taken to prepare girls and transgender children to participate actively, effectively and equally with boys at all levels of social, economic, political and cultural leadership. In countries of origin, the participation of children is paramount in developing policies on and in processes aimed at addressing drivers of the migration of children and/or their parents and developing policies in that regard. In addition, States should adopt measures aimed at empowering children affected by international migration to participate on different levels, through consultations, collaborations and child-led initiatives, and at ensuring that civil society organizations, including children associations and child-led organizations, can participate effectively in policy dialogues and processes on children in the context of international migration, at the local, national, regional and international levels. Any limitations on children’s freedom of association, including through legally establishing associations, should be removed.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, States should take the following actions to ensure the full and effective protection of migrant children from all forms of violence and abuse: - Take effective measures to ensure that they are protected from any form of slavery and commercial sexual exploitation and from being used for illicit activities or from any work that would jeopardize their health, safety or morals, including by becoming party to relevant conventions of the International Labour Organization - Take effective measures to protect them from all forms of violence and abuse, regardless of their migration status - Recognize and address the gender-specific vulnerable situations of girls and boys and children with disabilities as potential victims of trafficking for sexual, labour and all other forms of exploitation - Ensure comprehensive protection, support services and access to effective redress mechanisms, including psychosocial assistance and information about those remedies, for migrant children and their families reporting cases of violence, abuse or exploitation to police or other relevant authorities, regardless of their migration status; children and parents must be able to safely report to police or other authorities as victims or witnesses without any risk of immigration enforcement as a result - Recognize the important role that can be played by community services and civil society organizations in regard to the protection of migrant children - Develop comprehensive policies aimed at addressing the root causes of all forms of violence, exploitation and abuse against migrant children, including adequate resources for their proper implementation
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 3 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 22 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the general principles regarding the human rights ... 2017, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- States parties should conduct a robust gender analysis of the specific impacts of migration policies and programmes on children of all genders. States parties should review and amend any gender-discriminatory restrictions on migration in law or practice that limit opportunities for girls or that do not recognize their capacity and autonomy to make their own decisions.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- It is essential that States take all necessary measures to prevent and combat the illicit transfer and non-return of children as well as the worst forms of child labour, including all forms of slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, the use of children for illicit activities, including begging, and hazardous work, and protect them from violence and economic exploitation. The Committees recognize that children face gender-specific risks and vulnerabilities which should be identified and specifically addressed. In many contexts, girls may be even more vulnerable to trafficking, especially for purposes of sexual exploitation. Additional measures should be taken to address the particular vulnerability of girls and boys, including those who might have a disability, as well as children who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex persons, to trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation and abuse.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Joint general comment No. 4 (2017) of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and No. 23 (2017) of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on State obligations regarding the human rights of c ... 2017, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- States should strengthen measures to grant nationality to children born in their territory in situations where they would otherwise be stateless. When the law of a mother’s country of nationality does not recognize a woman’s right to confer nationality on her children and/or spouse, children may face the risk of statelessness. Likewise, where nationality laws do not guarantee women’s autonomous right to acquire, change or retain their nationality in marriage, girls in the situation of international migration who married under the age of 18 years may face the risk of being stateless, or be confined in abusive marriages out of fear of being stateless. States should take immediate steps to reform nationality laws that discriminate against women by granting equal rights to men and women to confer nationality on their children and spouses and regarding the acquisition, change or retention of their nationality.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- The Committee recommends that States adopt a transitional approach towards achieving a balance between the positive role of work in adolescents' lives while ensuring their right to compulsory education, without discrimination. Schooling and the introduction to decent work should be coordinated to facilitate both in the lives of adolescents, according to their age and the effective mechanisms introduced to regulate such work, and give redress when adolescents are the victims of exploitation. The protection from hazardous work of all children under 18 years of age should be stipulated, with a clear list of specific harmful work. Efforts directed at preventing harmful work and working conditions should be made as a matter of priority, paying special attention to girls involved in domestic labour and other often "invisible" workers.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- States should guarantee that adolescents' right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly in all its forms is fully respected, consistent with the restrictions delineated in article 15 (2) of the Convention, including through the provision of safe spaces for both girls and boys. Legal recognition should be afforded to adolescents to establish their own associations, clubs, organizations, parliaments and forums, both in and out of school, form online networks, join political parties and join or form their own trade unions. Measures should also be introduced to protect adolescent human rights defenders, particularly girls, who often face gender-specific threats and violence.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- The Convention prohibits any gender-based discrimination, and age limits should be equal for girls and boys.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- The Committee is deeply concerned at the challenges faced by many States to achieve equality in the enrolment of girls and boys and keep girls in school beyond primary education. Investment in girls' secondary education, a commitment necessary to comply with articles 2, 6 and 28 of the Convention, also serves to protect girls from child and forced marriage, sexual exploitation and early pregnancy, and contributes significantly towards the future economic potential of girls and their children. Investment should also be made in strategies that promote positive gender relations and social norms; address sexual and gender-based violence, including within schools; and promote positive role models, family support and the economic empowerment of women, to overcome the legal, political, cultural, economic and social barriers that represent barriers for girls. Furthermore, States should recognize that a growing number of boys are not enrolling and are not remaining in school, identify the causes and adopt appropriate measures to support boys' continued participation in education.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Public budgeting for the realization of children’s rights (art. 4) 2016, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- The present general comment was also informed by consultations held by the Committee with representatives of States, the United Nations, non-governmental organizations, children and individual experts through surveys, meetings and regional consultations in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, the general comment was informed by a global consultation with 2,693 children from 71 countries, conducted via an online survey, focus groups and regional consultations in Asia, Europe and Latin America. The consultation included contributions from boys and girls of different backgrounds in terms of age, gender, ability, socioeconomic context, language, ethnicity, school enrolment, displacement and experience of child-participatory budgeting. [...]
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- States need to invest in proactive measures to promote the empowerment of girls, challenge patriarchal and other harmful gender norms and stereotyping and legal reforms in order to address direct and indirect discrimination against girls, in cooperation with all stakeholders, including civil society, women and men, traditional and religious leaders and adolescents themselves. Explicit measures are needed in all laws, policies and programmes to guarantee the rights of girls on an equal basis with boys.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- Adolescents' right to rest and leisure and to engage and participate freely in play, recreational and artistic activities, both online and offline, are fundamental to their exploration of identity, enabling adolescents to explore their culture, forge new artistic forms, create relationships and evolve as human beings. Leisure, recreation and the arts give adolescents a sense of uniqueness that is fundamental to the rights to human dignity, optimum development, freedom of expression, participation and privacy. The Committee notes with regret that those rights are widely neglected in adolescence, especially for girls. Fear of and hostility towards adolescents in public spaces, and a lack of adolescent-friendly urban planning, educational and leisure infrastructure, can inhibit the freedom to engage in recreational activity and sports. The Committee draws the attention of States to the rights embodied in article 31 of the Convention and its recommendations in general comment No. 17 (2013) on the right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- The Committee urges States parties to introduce measures to support adolescents from minority and indigenous communities so that they can enjoy their cultural identities and build on the strengths of their cultures to become active contributors to family and community life, paying particular attention to the rights of adolescent girls. In so doing, States should address the comprehensive recommendations contained in the Committee's general comment No. 11 (2009) on indigenous children and their rights under the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- The Committee urges States to introduce measures to address such rights violations, and encourages them to challenge negative perceptions of boys, promote positive masculinities, overcome cultural values based on machismo and promote greater recognition of the gender dimension of the abuses they experience. States should also recognize the importance of engaging with boys and men, as well as girls and women, in all measures introduced to achieve gender equality.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- There should be no barriers to commodities, information and counselling on sexual and reproductive health and rights, such as requirements for third-party consent or authorization. In addition, particular efforts need to be made to overcome barriers of stigma and fear experienced by, for example, adolescent girls, girls with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex adolescents, in gaining access to such services. The Committee urges States to decriminalize abortion to ensure that girls have access to safe abortion and post-abortion services, review legislation with a view to guaranteeing the best interests of pregnant adolescents and ensure that their views are always heard and respected in abortion-related decisions.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Efforts need to be made to consult adolescents on the barriers impeding their continued participation in school, given the high levels of early school leaving while still illiterate or without obtaining qualifications. The Committee has observed the following contributory factors: fees and associated costs; family poverty and lack of adequate social protection schemes, including adequate health insurance; lack of adequate and safe sanitation facilities for girls; exclusion of pregnant schoolgirls and adolescent mothers; persistent use of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments; lack of effective measures to eliminate sexual harassment in school; sexual exploitation of girls; environments not conducive to girls' inclusion and safety; inappropriate teaching pedagogies; irrelevant or outdated curricula; failure to engage students in their own learning; and bullying. In addition, schools often lack the flexibility needed for adolescents to be able to combine work and/or family care responsibilities with their education, without which they may be unable to continue to meet the associated costs of schooling. Consistent with article 28 (1) (e) of the Convention and Sustainable Development Goal 4, States should introduce comprehensive and proactive measures to address all these factors and improve enrolment and attendance, reduce early school leaving and provide opportunities to complete education for those who have left.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- The Committee expresses deep concern about the fact that adolescent boys and girls are being recruited, including through the use of social media, by States' armed forces, armed groups and militias, and urges all States parties to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. It is also concerned about adolescents' vulnerability to being enticed by terrorist propaganda, extremist views and involvement in terrorist activities. Research with adolescents should be undertaken to explore the factors driving their engagement in such activities and States should take appropriate action in response to the findings, paying particular attention to measures promoting social integration.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- During adolescence, gender inequalities become more significant. Manifestations of discrimination, inequality and stereotyping against girls often intensify, leading to more serious violations of their rights, including child and forced marriage, early pregnancy, female genital mutilation, gender-based physical, mental and sexual violence, abuse, exploitation and trafficking. Cultural norms ascribing lower status to girls can increase the likelihood of confinement to the home, lack of access to secondary and tertiary education, limited opportunities for leisure, sport, recreation and income generation, lack of access to cultural life and the arts, burdensome domestic chores and childcare responsibilities. In many countries, girls report lower levels of health and life satisfaction indicators than boys, a difference that gradually increases with age.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- The Committee recognizes that adolescence is not easily defined, and that individual children reach maturity at different ages. Puberty occurs at different ages for boys and girls, and different brain functions mature at different times. The process of transitioning from childhood to adulthood is influenced by context and environment, as reflected in the wide variation in cultural expectations of adolescents in national legislations, which afford different thresholds for entry into adult activities, and across international bodies, which employ a variety of age ranges to define adolescence. The present general comment does not seek, therefore, to define adolescence, but instead focuses on the period of childhood from 10 years until the 18th birthday to facilitate consistency in data collection.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Traditional concepts of masculinity and gender norms linked to violence and dominance can compromise boys' rights. These include the imposition of harmful initiation rites, exposure to violence, gangs, coercion into militia, extremist groups and trafficking. The denial of their vulnerability to physical and sexual abuse and exploitation also poses pervasive and significant barriers to boys gaining access to sexual and reproductive health information, goods and services, and a consequent lack of protective services.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Adolescents are the only age group in which death due to AIDS is increasing. Adolescents may face challenges in gaining access to antiretroviral treatment and remaining in treatment; the need to gain the consent of guardians in order to access HIV-related services, disclosure and stigma are some barriers. Adolescent girls are disproportionately affected, representing two thirds of new infections. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adolescents, adolescents who exchange sex for money, goods or favours and adolescents who inject drugs are also at a higher risk of HIV infection.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The Committee has identified multiple forms of discrimination, many of which have particular implications in adolescence and necessitate an intersectional analysis and targeted holistic measures. Adolescence itself can be a source of discrimination. During this period, adolescents may be treated as dangerous or hostile, incarcerated, exploited or exposed to violence as a direct consequence of their status. Paradoxically, they are also often treated as incompetent and incapable of making decisions about their lives. The Committee urges States to ensure that all of the rights of every adolescent boy and girl are afforded equal respect and protection and that comprehensive and appropriate affirmative action measures are introduced in order to diminish or eliminate conditions that result in direct or indirect discrimination against any group of adolescents on any grounds. States are reminded that not every differentiation of treatment will constitute discrimination, if the criteria for such differentiation are reasonable and objective and if the aim is to achieve a purpose that is legitimate under the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- The digital environment can also expose adolescents to risks, such as online fraud, violence and hate speech, sexist speech against girls and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex adolescents, cyberbullying, grooming for sexual exploitation, trafficking and child pornography, over-sexualization and targeting by armed or extremist groups. This should not however restrict adolescents' access to the digital environment. Instead, their safety should be promoted through holistic strategies, including digital literacy with regard to online risks and strategies for keeping them safe, strengthened legislation and law enforcement mechanisms to tackle abuse online and fight impunity, and training parents and professionals who work with children. States are urged to ensure the active engagement of adolescents in the design and implementation of initiatives aimed at fostering online safety, including through peer mentoring. Investment is needed in the development of technological solutions on prevention and protection and the availability of assistance and support. States are encouraged to require businesses to undertake child-rights due diligence with a view to identifying, preventing and mitigating the impact of risks on children's rights when using digital media and information and communications technology.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- The Committee urges States to adopt comprehensive gender and sexuality-sensitive sexual and reproductive health policies for adolescents, emphasizing that unequal access by adolescents to such information, commodities and services amounts to discrimination. Lack of access to such services contributes to adolescent girls being the group most at risk of dying or suffering serious or lifelong injuries in pregnancy and childbirth. All adolescents should have access to free, confidential, adolescent-responsive and non-discriminatory sexual and reproductive health services, information and education, available both online and in person, including on family planning, contraception, including emergency contraception, prevention, care and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, counselling, pre-conception care, maternal health services and menstrual hygiene.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The implementation of the rights of the child during adolescence 2016, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Growing numbers of adolescent girls and boys migrate, either within or outside their country of origin, in search of improved standards of living, education or family reunification. For many, migration offers significant social and economic opportunities. However, it also poses risks, including physical harm, psychological trauma, marginalization, discrimination, xenophobia and sexual and economic exploitation and, when crossing borders, immigration raids and detention. Many adolescent migrants are denied access to education, housing, health, recreation, participation, protection and social security. Even where rights to services are protected by laws and policies, adolescents may face administrative and other obstacles in gaining access to such services, including: demands for identity documents or social security numbers; harmful and inaccurate age-determination procedures; financial and linguistic barriers; and the risk that gaining access to services will result in detention or deportation. The Committee refers States parties to its comprehensive recommendations elaborated in respect of migrant children.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Female genital mutilation, female circumcision or female genital cutting is the practice of partially or wholly removing the external female genitalia or otherwise injuring the female genital organs for non-medical or non-health reasons. In the context of the present joint general recommendation/general comment, it is referred to as female genital mutilation. Female genital mutilation is performed in every region and, within some cultures, is a requirement for marriage and believed to be an effective method of controlling the sexuality of women and girls. It may have various immediate and/or long-term health consequences, including severe pain, shock, infections and complications during childbirth (affecting both the mother and the child), long-term gynaecological problems such as fistula, psychological effects and death. The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund estimate that between 100 million and 140 million girls and women worldwide have been subjected to a type of female genital mutilation.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Child marriage, also referred to as early marriage, is any marriage where at least one of the parties is under 18 years of age. The overwhelming majority of child marriages, both formal and informal, involve girls, although at times their spouses are also under 18 years of age. A child marriage is considered to be a form of forced marriage, given that one and/or both parties have not expressed full, free and informed consent. As a matter of respecting the child's evolving capacities and autonomy in making decisions that affect her or his life, a marriage of a mature, capable child below 18 years of age may be allowed in exceptional circumstances, provided that the child is at least 16 years of age and that such decisions are made by a judge based on legitimate exceptional grounds defined by law and on the evidence of maturity, without deference to culture and tradition.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- In some contexts, children are betrothed or married very young and, in many cases, young girls are forced to marry a man who may be decades older. In 2012, the United Nations Children's Fund reported that almost 400 million women between 20 and 49 years of age around the world had been married or had entered into a union before reaching 18 years of age. The Committees have therefore been paying particular attention to cases in which girls have been married against their full, free and informed consent, such as when they have been married too young to be physically and psychologically ready for adult life or to make conscious and informed decisions and thus not ready to consent to marriage. Other examples include cases in which guardians have the legal authority to consent to marriage of girls in accordance with customary or statutory law and in which girls are thus married contrary to the right to freely enter into marriage.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Child marriage is often accompanied by early and frequent pregnancy and childbirth, resulting in higher than average maternal morbidity and mortality rates. Pregnancy-related deaths are the leading cause of mortality for girls between 15 and 19 years of age, whether married or unmarried, around the world. Infant mortality among the children of very young mothers is higher (sometimes as much as two times higher) than among those of older mothers. In cases of child and/or forced marriage, in particular where the husband is significantly older than the wife, and where girls have limited education, the girls generally have limited decision-making power in relation to their own lives. Child marriage also contributes to higher rates of school dropout, especially among girls, forced exclusion from school and an increased risk of domestic violence, in addition to limiting the enjoyment of the right to freedom of movement.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Harmful practices (joint General Recommendation with CEDAW) 2014, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- One of the first steps in combating harmful practices is through prevention. Both Committees have underlined that prevention can be best achieved through a rights-based approach to changing social and cultural norms, empowering women and girls, building the capacity of all relevant professionals who are in regular contact with victims, potential victims and perpetrators of harmful practices at all levels and raising awareness of the causes and consequences of harmful practices, including through dialogue with relevant stakeholders.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph