A/HRC/43/40 Review Panel of the United Nations response to allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse in the Central African Republic (A/71/99), the Secretary-General outlined a series of measures focused on the investigation and prosecution of these crimes and recovery of the victims (A/71/818 and Corr.1). 47. This was a positive signal. However, much more needs to be done to address the problem effectively. Members of armed forces stationed abroad continue to fuel demand for prostitution, resulting in a significant number of children being sexually exploited and abused. Furthermore, military personnel who are preferential offenders reportedly continue to take advantage of their position to sexually exploit children. 48. In 2019, the Secretary-General reported that the number of cases in United Nations peacekeeping and special political missions had decreased, with 54 allegations reported in 2018, 62 in 2017, and 104 in 2016. The allegations reported for peacekeeping missions in 2018 were associated with 94 victims, of whom 17 per cent were children (A/73/744, para. 70). The majority of victims are denied access to justice and reparation. There is also a lack of comprehensive information about specific measures taken to protect child victims and witnesses in these cases. 6. Sale of children: child marriage 49. Despite the decreasing trend worldwide, the prevalence of child marriage remains high, with approximately one in five young women in the world today who were married as children.34 No region is on track to meet target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, on eliminating this harmful practice by 2030.35 Anecdotally, social media and other online applications further enable criminal networks to trade and traffic young girls as brides on a much larger scale. 50. The negative impact of the practice on children’s health, rights and education is undeniable.36 In addition to serious medical conditions linked to forced sexual relations and early pregnancies, child marriage negatively affects children’s future earning capacities as they drop out of school. Estimates for 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where the prevalence of child marriage is the highest in the world, indicate that child marriage is costing these countries billions of dollars in lost earnings and human capital wealth. 37 51. The Special Rapporteur has emphasized that child marriage may amount to the sale of children for the purpose of forced labour when the marriage agreement includes a transaction in the form of financial payment or in-kind benefits (A/71/261, para. 33).38 In such transactions, children are treated as commodities and exchanged for goods or money, or to settle debts or disputes. A study has highlighted the dynamics that lead children to be sold for the purpose of forced labour under the cover of marriage. 39 In some cases, such practices may amount to modern forms of slavery (A/74/179, paras. 12–13). 52. Weak legal systems and poor enforcement of laws are a major obstacle to ending child marriage.40 Several legal and policy bottlenecks further hinder efforts to address this problem in countries with complex legal systems encompassing religious, civil and customary laws.41 Poverty and lack of access to education are among the main drivers of child marriage. The Special Rapporteur is also alarmed by cases of parents marrying off 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 UNICEF, “Child marriage: latest trends and future prospects”, July 2018. See www.unfpa.org/publications/accelerating-and-amplifying-change. World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, “Child marriage – a threat to health”, 20 December 2012. Quentin Wodon and others, Educating Girls and Ending Child Marriage: A Priority for Africa (Washington, D.C., World Bank Group, 2018), p. 9. See also the submission from the Girls Advocacy Alliance. Foundation ECPAT International, Thematic Report: Unrecognised Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children in Child, Early and Forced Marriage (Bangkok, 2015), p. 44. See the submission from the secretariat of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (“GREVIO”), the monitoring mechanism under the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. See examples documented by the Special Rapporteur during her country visits: A/HRC/40/51/Add.3, para. 35; A/HRC/25/48/Add.1, para. 26; and OHCHR, “The Gambia must step up prosecutions to boost progress on ending child sexual exploitation, says UN human rights expert”, 31 October 2019. 9