Opening Remarks at Too Young to Wed Event

3 March 2014

Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

These images of married girls as young as eight years of age tell us so much about the reality of child marriages around the world. I am very pleased to partner with my eminent colleague, Babatunde Osotimehin and other co-sponsors on bringing this exhibition to Geneva.
This exhibition tells us that child marriage remains widespread in many countries, despite the adoption of domestic and regional legal frameworks forbidding the practice.

According to UNICEF, over the next 10 years, 50 million girls are at risk of being married before the age of 15, the majority of whom will have limited education and will be from rural areas, living in extreme poverty. The actual number will probably be considerably higher.

Child marriage is rooted in unequal power relations in society and can result in the perpetual subjugation of girls and women. In the absence of effective legal remedies, child marriage exposes women and girls to a continuum of harm throughout their lives. It also stifles economic and educational opportunities for girls and women, and can have adverse effect on sexual and reproductive health.

International human rights law guarantees the right of all individuals to freely choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with their free and full consent on a basis of equality and without discrimination. The core international human rights instruments, coupled with recommendations from human rights treaty bodies and special procedures mechanisms, provide a solid foundation for addressing child marriage. At the national level, there is clearly the need for a robust legal framework on the issue that complies with international human rights standards, such as the provision for a minimum age of marriage. A number of countries have been setting a very positive example in legislating to ensure that family laws that protect women take precedence over customary or religious laws that violate their rights.

Of course legal provisions alone will not eliminate child marriages. Protection and prevention measures must be taken in a comprehensive manner including addressing the structural and root causes as well as the inter-generational impact of child marriage, and victims must be included in the development and implementation of such measures. Protection and support services involving key ministries, State institutions and civil society organisations are also important to harness in addressing and mitigating the impact of child marriage.

My office is involved in a number of activities on child marriage, including normative guidance, assisting in policy development and conducting capacity building activities. In June, I will present a report to the Human Rights Council on preventing and eliminating child, early and forced marriage, with a particular focus on challenges, achievements, best practices and implementation gaps. We will also organize a panel discussion on the issue.

Excellences, ladies and gentlemen,

I want to conclude by underlining the importance of joint partnerships between States, UN agencies, civil society groups and individuals who are carrying out much of the crucial work in responding to and preventing child marriage including development of new approaches.
There is now a consensus that eliminating the practice of child marriage is of fundamental importance in moving forward the agenda on the rights of women and girls.

My office is proud to be supporting this award-winning photo exhibition. We have a distinguished panel of speakers this evening and I look forward to their views on how we can scale up efforts to fight the scourge of child marriage.