Plan International, the charity which champions the rights and welfare of orphans and other vulnerable children across the globe, is just one of the many organisations which have welcomed a commitment by the 54 leaders of the Commonwealth to focus on efforts to end the early and forced marriage of millions of girls around the Commonwealth.

At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting ( CHOGM ) in Perth, Australia, the leaders’ communique has committed to improving gender equality and the empowerment of women in the Commonwealth by, among other things:

– Implementing international instruments and agreements on women’s rights.

– Promoting the implementation of measures to tackle early and forced marriage.

Ian Wishart, chief executive of Plan International Australia, said the Commonwealth leaders\’ decision to focus on the issue of early and forced marriage would significantly boost global efforts to protect millions of girls from being coaxed and coerced into marriage.

“The decision to focus on ending early and forced marriage sends a strong signal to government authorities and communities across the Commonwealth that the early marriage of girls – often against their will and best interests – is no longer a practice to be tolerated,” he said.

“The Commonwealth must now deliver on its commitment to improve gender equality by implementing practical actions that can end the practice of early and forced marriage and transform the lives of the millions of girls throughout the Commonwealth.”

During the week of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting many influential leaders expressed their desire to see an end to the practice of forced, early marriages, including Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC CVO, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, Dr Surujrattan Rambachan, Foreign Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and Malcolm Fraser, Former Prime Minister of Australia. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, had also been pushing at CHOGM for forced marriage to be a human rights issue on which Commonwealth leaders would agree action.

A means to ending poverty

Speaking from the meeting in Perth, Australia, Plan UK\’s director of advocacy, Leigh Daynes, said that the issue of early and forced marriage was a clear example of how the Commonwealth could take real and tangible action on human rights issues.

\”Early and forced marriage is a gross violation of a girl\’s rights and must end, along with its devastating consequences on a girl\’s education, health and future,” he said.

\”Too many girls are consigned to grinding poverty when they become child brides.\”

Plan International and the Royal Commonwealth Society have been campaigning on the issue of early and forced marriage as a key human rights violation that could be dramatically reduced if the Commonwealth’s member states were willing to take concrete action.

As part of their push for action on the issue, the organisations have released a CHOGM briefing paper called: Empowering Girls: what the Commonwealth can do to end early and forced marriage.

The paper highlights that early and forced marriage is one of the greatest ongoing barriers to girls’ education, maternal health and economic empowerment, and calls for the Commonwealth to do more to prevent young girls being forced to marry against their will and before they are ready.

early and forced marriage

Link Builder http://www.plan-uk.org/early-and-forced-marriage/

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