A/HRC/21/41 Thailand and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (see A/HRC/21/49). She received replies from Lebanon and the United Kingdom and urges the other Governments to respond. 8. The Special Rapporteur issued numerous press statements, either individually or jointly with other special procedures mandate holders. III. Servile marriage 9. In its resolution 843 (IX), the General Assembly declared some customs, ancient laws and practices relating to marriage and the family to be inconsistent with the principles set forth in the Charter of the United Nations and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 10. In its resolution 66/140, the General Assembly reiterated its call for an end to harmful traditional or customary practices, such as early and forced marriage, and called upon States to take appropriate measures to address the root factors of child and forced marriages, including by undertaking educational activities to raise awareness regarding the negative aspects of such practices. It urged all States to enact and strictly enforce laws to ensure that marriage was entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses, and, in addition, to enact and strictly enforce laws concerning the minimum legal age of consent and the minimum age for marriage and raise the minimum age for marriage where necessary, and to develop and implement comprehensive policies, plans of action and programmes for the survival, protection, development and advancement of the girl child in order to promote and protect the full enjoyment of her human rights and to ensure equal opportunities for girls, including by making such plans an integral part of her total development process. 11. The General Assembly also urged States to ensure that efforts to enact and implement legislation to end child and forced marriages engaged all stakeholders and agents of change and to ensure that the information on the legislation against the practice was well known and generated social support for the enforcement of such laws and legislation. States were urged to support community workshops and discussion sessions to enable communities to collectively explore ways to prevent and address child and forced marriages, provide information through stakeholders credible to the community, such as medical personnel and local, community and religious leaders, regarding the harm associated with those marriages, give greater voice to girls and ensure consistence of message throughout the entire community, and encourage the much-needed strong engagement of men and boys. 12. The General Assembly called upon States to support and implement, including with dedicated resources, multisectoral policies and programmes that ended the practice of child and forced marriages and to ensure the provision of viable alternatives and institutional support, especially educational opportunities for girls, with an emphasis on keeping girls in school through post-primary education, including those who were already married or pregnant, ensuring physical access to education, including by establishing safe residential facilities, increasing financial incentives to families, promoting the empowerment of girls, improving educational quality and ensuring safe and hygienic conditions in schools. 13. Under the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, all forms of forced marriage are defined as practices similar to slavery, which reduce a spouse to a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised. International law has further reiterated and reinforced the provisions within the Convention that prohibit forced and early marriages. Over the years, however, the idea that forced and early marriages are forms of slavery and, therefore, servile marriage has been lost. 4