EU rights body wants minimum marriage age of 18
Europe’s top human rights watchdog today called on European governments to fix the minimum marriage age at 18 to help prevent forced and child marriages.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe said the problem arises chiefly among immigrants and affects girls and young women.
“Under the cloak of respect for the culture and traditions of the migrant communities, there are authorities which tolerate forced marriages and child marriages although they violate the fundamental rights of each and every victim,” the assembly said in a resolution, which is non-binding, but can be used as a form of political pressure.
“Often an obstacle to school attendance, child marriages may be prejudicial to children’s access to education and their intellectual and social development. The assembly is appalled to find that some national legislation permits the marriage of minors,” the resolution said.
The assembly also called on European countries not to recognise forced and child marriages carried out abroad.
The assembly said such marriages had been recorded in Britain, France, Germany and some eastern European states, and often occurred in Muslim families.
In France, 70,000 people are estimated to be at risk of forced marriage, mainly girls of foreign origin.
The Parliamentary Assembly meets four times a year and includes national deputies from each of the Council of Europe’s 46 member states.
