A/HRC/27/34 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 24/23, the Human Rights Council decided to convene, at its twentysixth session, a panel discussion on preventing and eliminating child, early and forced marriage, with a particular focus on challenges, achievements, best practices and implementation gaps, and requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to prepare a summary report on the panel discussion. The present report was prepared pursuant to that request. 2. Also in resolution 24/23, the Human Rights Council requested OHCHR to prepare a report on preventing and eliminating child, early and forced marriage, with a particular focus on challenges, achievements, best practices and implementation gaps, to be presented to the Council at its twenty-sixth session.1 3. The panel discussion, which was held on 23 June 2014, was moderated by the Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the United Nations at Geneva, Ambassador Yvette Stevens, and was opened by the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights. The panellists were a member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and Chairperson of the Committee’s working group on harmful practices, Violetta Neubauer; the Special Rapporteur on the rights of women in Africa of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Soyata Maiga; the Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Kate Gilmore; Programme Coordinator for Advocacy and Research (CREA), Pooja Badarinath; and the Programme Area Manager for Upper Egypt, Plan International, Dr. Ayman Sadek. The discussions were structured in three segments. II. Summary of discussions 4. In her opening remarks, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that child, early and forced marriage violated human rights and affected girls and women disproportionately. The origins of this practice were rooted in unequal gender status and power relations, which resulted in the perpetual subjugation of girls and women. She highlighted the fact that discriminatory cultural practices based on stereotypical views of women’s roles and sexuality, as well as poverty and insecurity, were structural causes. She also pointed out numerous human rights violations resulting from child, early and forced marriage, including those relating to employment, education and other opportunities for girls and young women, as well as exposure to a variety of forms of violence. Moreover, it was associated with a range of poor health outcomes, including early and frequent pregnancy and forced continuation of pregnancy, all of which were closely linked to high rates of death for both young mothers and their infant children. 5. The Deputy High Commissioner recalled the legal obligations of States with regard to marriage under international human rights law, including the requirements that both parties must be at least 18 years of age and give free and full consent to the union. She further pointed to some of the lessons learned from ongoing efforts, including the importance of participation, education and awareness-raising, as documented by OHCHR in its report. Welcoming the attention devoted by the Human Rights Council to this important issue, she encouraged continued examination of this human rights violation by the Council and also in discussions on the post-2015 development agenda. 1 2 See A/HRC/26/22.