A/HRC/27/34 6. Violetta Neubauer observed that important normative standards and principles with regard to child, early and forced marriage were set out in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (and in the jurisprudence of the relevant Committee. She distinguished the different terms of “child”, “early” and “forced marriage”, and explained that they could not be used interchangeably owing to the undefined nature of the term “early marriage”. The Committee increasingly used the terms “child” and “forced marriage”, the former to describe the marriage of persons below the age of 18. The Committee considered child marriage also a forced marriage, although not the only one. 7. Kate Gilmore, speaking also on behalf of the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund and UNFPA, stated that the human rights implications of child and forced marriage were significant and grave. She referred to the 14.2 million girls who are married every year, the majority of whom were poor, had little or no access to education, and lived in rural and remote areas. One in nine of these girls was married before the age of 15, including girls as young as six years. She explained the consequences of such a marriage, including dropping out from school and multiple pregnancies. With regard to pregnancy, she drew attention to the fact that as many as 90 per cent of adolescent pregnancies occurred within marriage; this was the group most at risk of maternal mortality and morbidity. It was also the group with the least access to information and services that could ensure their sexual and reproductive health and rights. In addition to being a violation in its own right, child, early and forced marriage also violated the right to life, liberty and security, and the rights to information, freedom from discrimination, and freedom from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, including sexual violence. 8. Pooja Badarinath stressed that the impact of child and forced marriage on the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young girls and women was known; indeed, as many as 70 per cent of girls forced to marry experienced sexual violence. To date, however, more than 100 countries still had not explicitly criminalized rape within marriage. She drew a connection between child, early and forced marriage and the issue of consent, explaining that child marriage could not be addressed in isolation from issues of autonomy, choice and equity. In considering consent, she stressed the importance of the evolving capacity of young people and warned against narrow approaches based solely on the age of marriage. In particular, she highlighted the need for a contextual understanding of issues, such as the role of parental and spousal consent in exercising sexual agency and related sexual and reproductive health decisions. Furthermore, any assessment of harm should be made within the framework of a continuum that began prior to marriage and continued thereafter. She also highlighted the need to address cultural issues, such as those relating to women’s and girls’ sexuality. 9. Soyata Maiga described the ways in which the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights had addressed child, early and forced marriage. The issue was regularly invoked in the Commission’s communications and interactive dialogue with Member States. Ms. Maiga referred to a variety of recommendations made by the Commission to States, including removing all discriminatory legislation; harmonizing national legislation with regional standards, including the obligation to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18 years; awareness-raising to combat gender stereotypes; ensuring access to education for girls, including sexual and reproductive health education in school curricula; enforcing birth and marriage registration; and educating religious and community leaders on the harm caused by child, early and forced marriage. She particularly emphasized the need for a comprehensive approach; legislative measures needed to be complemented by education programmes and other supportive measures. Lastly, Ms. Maiga announced that an allAfrican campaign had been launched in 29 May 2014 to mobilize everyone to fight against early and forced marriage. 3