Acknowledging:
- that the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing (1995) explicitly underlined the inseparable relationship between the development of both the status of women and the status of the girl child, and that no progress could be achieved if the girl child is deprived of the possibility of developing her own capacity,
- that the stage of development in each country depends mainly on the training and development of its young people, both boys and girls,
- that the age when the girl child is turning into a woman represents a most critical period of life both physically as well as psychologically; that too many reports show that early marriage represents a stop in the physical and mental development of the child coupled with dropping out of school and that the rate of mortality and difficult deliveries is specially high in the age group of adolescence,
- that we cannot ignore marriages of children or forced marriages made in exchange of financial agreements as is usually the rule in a number of communities,
Recalling
- The CEDAW Convention (1979) on the freedom to conclude marriage and freedom of consent for both spouses,
- The UN Convention on Marriage of 1962 which forbids any marriage under the age of fifteen,
- The UN Convention on the Right of the Child (1989) art. 18 and 24,
- The Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session of June 2002, art.44 para.9,
Noting
that numerous states are still tolerating or authorizing engagements and marriages under the age of fifteen,
that early marriage is depriving young girls of carrying out their school education,
that there is a high rate of death in childbirth of very young spouses, and that a great number of childbirth deliveries of very young spouses are resulting in disability and other illnesses,
the link between the lifelong poverty and early marriage,
Considering
that there is a confusion between the age when a girl child has her first periods and the age of marriage,
THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF WOMEN Urges its affiliated Councils to press their governments so that:
- child engagements, with another child or an adult, be declared illegal and financial arrangements linked to such engagements be forbidden,
- marriage under 18 be strongly discouraged,
- marriages and births be duly registered with the competent authorities in competent offices.
—
Source: International Council of Women (ICW-CIF) — 30th General Assembly, Perth, Western Australia, August 31 – September 5, 2003. Resolution No. 2.
