UN Established International Day Against Early and Forced Marriages

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has established the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage. It will be observed annually on November 27.

This was reported by the Africanews television channel.

According to the channel, the resolution was adopted by consensus on September 4. Sierra Leone was the initiator, and more than 60 states co-authored the document, including Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The resolution calls on states to conduct awareness-raising activities, provide assistance to victims of early and forced marriages, and hold perpetrators accountable. Countries are also encouraged to develop national strategies for eliminating this practice and to expand girls' access to education.

"An international day alone cannot end child marriage. But political attention, strong laws, effective institutions, education, and above all, sustained political will can," said Sierra Leone's First Lady Fatima Maada Bio, who presented the draft resolution.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), approximately 12 million girls are married before the age of 18 each year. Around 650 million women and girls alive today were married in childhood.

The elimination of child, early and forced marriage is among the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which are planned to be achieved by 2030.