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GLOSSARY

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Child marriage

     IRC site

Note:
Child marriage and the betrothal of boys and girls are not explicitly dealt with in the CRC. However, Article 24(3) of the CRC obligates States Parties to take all effective and appropriate measures to abolish traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children, and Article 36 deals with the right of the child to protection against all forms of exploitation prejudicial to any aspects of the child's welfare. Noteworthy is that Article 21(2) of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990) obligates States Parties to prohibit child marriage and the betrothal of boys and girls and to take effective action, including legislation, to specify the minimum age of marriage to be 18 years and to make registration of all marriages in an official registry compulsory. The Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages (1962), Articles 1(c)(d) and 2 of the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery (1956) and Article 23(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) obligate States Parties to specify a minimum age for marriage and/or prohibit marriages which are entered into without the free and full consent of both parties. Consider also the Recommendation on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages, which was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1965.

See also:
Traditional practices