OHCHR call for submissions on child, early and forced marriage — deadline 15 December 2013

The High-Level Panel in its illustrative goal 2 called for a target to end child marriage. The UNFPA proposals for the post-2015 development framework also call for prevention and elimination of sexual coercion and violence against women, including child marriage.

Last month the UN Human Rights Council adopted Resolution 24/23 on the subject of child, early and forced marriage.  It requests the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to prepare a report on “preventing and eliminating child, early and forced marriage, with a particular focus on challenges, achievements, best practices and implementation gaps” to be presented to the Council at its 26th session in June 2014.  This report will also inform the panel discussion that will be held at that session on the same subject. This report can contribute to the inclusion of child, early and forced marriage into the post-2015 development agenda.

The OHCHR has put out a call for submissions from civil society to feed into this report.  The deadline for submissions is December 15.  It will be important to make as many submissions as possible from a feminist perspective and utilizing a human rights-based approach.  Please make a submission and share this information with other feminist and reproductive and sexual health and rights networks.

Attached are a couple of resources prepared by the Sexual Rights Initiative on the subject: 

• A briefing note that was prepared in advance of negotiations on the HRC resolution.  It outlines a few important dimensions of the subject that many governments tend to neglect.  As such, it would be important for civil society to make submissions on these issues so that the OHCHR report can reflect these aspects strongly and make relevant observations and recommendations to States.

• A paper analyzing the terminology of child, early and forced marriage from the international human rights law and UN policy perspectives, which might prove useful in framing submissions to the OHCHR.

If you have further questions please contact Neha Sood, Advocacy and Policy Officer, Action Canada for Population and Development (ACPD) email neha@acpd.ca.