A/HRC/41/19 Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and UNICEF reported that, in contexts of crisis, priority is usually given to the provision of physical infrastructure. That might not include transportation, health or educational infrastructure, even though they can be key to assuring the safety of girls and reducing parental anxiety – factors that may contribute to decisions to marry off underage girls (E/ESCWA/ECW/2015/2, p. 88). In addition, parts of countries in conflict may be controlled by non-State armed groups, which does not allow for the effective implementation of legislation. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia reported in its submission that Al-Shabaab routinely abducted young girls and forced them to become sex slaves and wives of militants, adding that limited access to large parts of the country made it difficult for the State to enforce the law, to protect girls at risk and to fight against impunity. 25. During and in the aftermath of crises, access to justice can be particularly challenging because formal justice systems may no longer exist or function with any level of efficiency or effectiveness. While the existing justice systems may often be ineffective for girls and women, all barriers faced by women in gaining access to justice before the national courts prior to the conflict, such as legal, procedural, institutional, social and practical barriers, are exacerbated during conflict, persist during the post-conflict period and operate alongside the breakdown of the police and judicial structures. 21 2. Lack of coordination and limited capacity to address the issue of child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian crises 26. As indicated in the submissions received for the present report, one major gap hampering the prevention and elimination of child, early and forced marriage has been the general lack of technical capacity among State and non-State actors to address the matter effectively. The submissions contain no systematic approaches or responses to child marriage. In its submission, Terre des hommes in Jordan revealed a lack of monitoring and evaluation of the impact of the programmes in place. Such evaluation could be critical in promoting learning and dissemination of best practice, especially on how development practices in the area of child, early and forced marriage can be adapted to humanitarian contexts. A UNICEF survey found that non-governmental organizations working on gender-related issues in Yemen suffered from a severe deficiency in staff capacity and material resources, including for case management and case referrals, which dramatically weakened service delivery.22 In the Sudan, the National Taskforce to End Child Marriage found through a 2017 survey that training was needed for all actors working on child marriage. In addition to services providers, that included law enforcement officials, the military, intersectoral departments and parliamentarians. 27. Better coordination between all stakeholders working on child, early and forced marriage is key, as strong linkages and partnerships between civil society and different government entities are often lacking.23 In their submissions, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Terre des hommes and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) identified training and knowledge sharing between practitioners and agencies as a challenge in many other settings. The adoption of a human rights-based approach to policies and programmes that address child, early and forced marriage can support meaningful progress in this area, including implementation of the human rights principles of equality, inclusiveness, nondiscrimination, participation, empowerment, transparency, sustainability, international cooperation and accountability (A/HRC/39/26). 21 22 23 8 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 30, para. 74. UNICEF, YEMEN Country Brief: UNICEF Regional Study on Child Marriage In the Middle East and North Africa (Amman, 2017), p. 10. UNICEF, SUDAN Country Brief: UNICEF Regional Study on Child Marriage In the Middle East and North Africa, (Amman, 2017), pp. 9–10.