Child Marriage - problem addressed, Resolution adopted...
- Valentina Vodopivec
- Apr 29, 2017
- 3 min read
On 20th April the first Official Mock Session was held at the Faculty of Social Sciences on the topic of Child Marriage. States participants, after two days of negotiation managed to set additional regulatory framework by adopting a Resolution which is reaffirming already existing Resolution from 2013 on child, early and forced marriage and all other previous resolutions relating to child, early and forced marriage. This certainly is a step forward for the international community to end this kind of human rights abuse and to reach the Millennium Development Goals which are currently the high priority of the United Nations.
Even before the floor opened for discussion a call for putting an end to this disgraceful issue, we are still facing in 21st century, was heard in the majority of states’ opening speeches. The representative of Cameroon was the first who clearly expressed that less developed and underdeveloped countries need more help, support and cooperation from the international community. It is important that states start solving problems and not only discussing them. For this purpose, the representative of Cameroon continued about importance of setting a clear and strong agenda firstly, by the examination of main causes of child marriage and secondly, to provide effective actions and strategies especially to those countries where child marriage is deeply rooted in their culture.
On that point the representatives of United States and United Kingdom expressed their concern regarding less developed and underdeveloped countries in the way, what exactly those countries already did and what are they in reality doing to change the situation of child marriage. It is important that those states start participating more actively in international forums by presenting more profound and clear information about their pressing problems. Representatives of United States, United Kingdom and Sweden clearly stated that the lack of information as statistical data and the lack of briefly drafted frameworks of expectations of developing states, what kind of approach they actually want from the international community, is in reality making the whole process of ending child marriage more complicated (“Tell us what do you want from us to do, and we will help you!”). As the developed world should accept that this process cannot end in a short term, so the developing countries should understand that they cannot justify child marriages with their cultures and traditions. It is time to start taking real actions!
During this heated debate between representatives of developed states and representatives of developing states, Canada proposed solution – global program for all. From here on, discussion slowly started to move toward solution. At the end Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Italy, Malaysia, South Korea, Turkey and Venezuela adopted new Resolution, sponsored by Kenya, Norway and Sweden, which is reaffirming already existing Resolution form 2013 on child, early and forced marriage. With the resolution international community strives to:
- expand UNFPA programmes in distant and rural areas
- support the Girls not Brides movement
- encourage all states to provide adequate legal measures to assure that every child gets registered at birth
- provide primary and secondary education, as a good means of preventing child marriage
From now on it is on each state! They are responsible to ensure these global commitments are put into practice. By implementing policies at both international and regional levels we can make girls free. We strongly hope this mission will bring positive results.
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