Global Parliamentary Declaration to End Child, Early and Forced Marriage & List of Signatories
The international community has pledged to end child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) as expressed in the Resolution on this issue adopted at the UN General Assembly in December 2014. As democratically-elected Members of Parliament from around the world, we join this pledge to support the inclusion of a strong target to end child, early and forced marriage in the post-2015 development framework and commit to ensure its implementation in our countries.
We are deeply concerned that child, early and forced marriage is a violation of human rights and a development challenge that prevents approximately 15 million girls every year, and their countries, from achieving their potential.
Furthermore, we note with dismay that the practice has impeded the achievement of current Millennium Development Goals, as it perpetuates cycles of poverty, undermines efforts to reduce the numbers of women and children dying in childbirth and infancy, and holds back girls from attending school and contributing to their countries’ economic development and prosperity.
2015 is a defining moment as current negotiations for a post-2015 development framework will determine the international agenda and its priorities for the next fifteen years. As Parliamentarians, we choose this opportunity to rally around a concrete target on child, early and forced marriage not only as a way to reduce violence against women and girls, but also to spur progress towards a whole range of associated health, economic and educational goals.
To achieve a life of dignity for all and leave no one behind, as UN Secretary General’s synthesis report on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasizes, the practice of child, early and forced marriage must be ended everywhere.
As Parliamentarians, it is our duty to empower, protect and promote the human rights of all individuals in our countries, especially those most vulnerable. Therefore, we raise our voices and commit:
As leaders, to use our platform and visibility to call on our Foreign Ministers to include a strong target to end child, early and forced marriage in the post-2015 development framework and to raise awareness in our constituencies and, with our colleagues in Parliament, of the value of the girl child, the importance of keeping girls in school, including pregnant and young mothers, and alternatives to child, early and forced marriage that benefit the child, the community and the country.
As lawmakers, to create an enabling legal and policy framework for addressing child, early and forced marriage in our countries that asserts the primacy of national law over religious and customary laws, establishes 18 as the minimum and uniform age of marriage for both boys and girls, strengthens birth registration systems, and protects women and girls’ rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, property rights, and access to justice.
In our oversight capacity, to invite our Foreign Minister, and other relevant Ministries, for a briefing on priorities for the Sustainable Development Goals’ negotiation process and stress that child, early and forced marriage must be comprehensively and strategically addressed in the post-2015 development framework. Additionally, and following the adoption of the SDGs, monitor the implementation as well as the allocation of resources to new and existing policies and laws that address child, early and forced marriage to ensure their effectiveness.
We, the undersigned Parliamentarians, hereby call upon our Foreign Ministries, fellow Parliamentarians, and relevant stakeholders to redouble efforts in the months ahead to ensure the post-2015 development framework includes a strong target to end child, early and forced marriage under a gender equality goal. Ending child, early and forced marriage will result in fewer girls dying in childbirth, more children surviving infancy, more girls attending school, and will place us on a path to a more equal and more prosperous future, leaving no one behind.
Signatories to date:
Ms. Naheed Farid, MP (Afghanistan)
Mrs. Valentina Leskaj, MP (Albania)
Dep. Palmira D. Pascoal Bernardo (Angola)
Dep. Eulália Maria A. Rocha e Silva (Angola)
Dep. Eduardo Menezes (Angola)
Sen. Maureen Payne-Hyman (Antigua and Barbuda)
Dip. Manuel Garrido (Argentina)
Dip. Carla Carrizo (Argentina)
Dip. Laura Esper (Argentina)
Dip. Gabriela Troiano (Argentina)
Dip. Juan Zabalza (Argentina)
Dip. Margarita Stolbizer (Argentina)
Dip. Luis Petri (Argentina)
Dip. Fabián Peralta (Argentina)
Dip. Maria Gabriela Burgos (Argentina)
Dip. Claudio Lozano (Argentina)
Dip. Ricardo Alfonsin (Argentina)
Dip. Graciela Villata (Argentina)
Dip. Duclos Omar (Argentina)
Dip. Patricia Bullrich (Argentina)
Sen. Jamie Linares (Argentina)
Mr. Laurie Ferguson, MP (Australia)
Mr. Kelvin Thomson, MP (Australia)
Mr. Tony Zappia, MP (Australia)
Mr. Chris Ketter, MP (Australia)
Sen. the Hon Jacinta Collins (Australia)
Sen. Alex Gallacher (Australia)
Mr. Andrew Leigh, MP (Australia)
Sen. Joe Bullock (Australia)
Ms. Terri Butler, MP (Australia)
Ms. Michelle Rowland, MP (Australia)
Ms. Sharon Claydon, MP (Australia)
Ms. Jennifer McAllister, MP (Australia)
Ms. Lisa Chesters, MP (Australia)
Sen. the Hon Lisa Singh (Australia)
Sen. the Hon Doug Cameron (Australia)
Hon. Warren Snowdon, MP (Australia)
Ms. Maria Vamvakinou, MP (Australia)
Hon. Anthony Albanese, MP (Australia)
Sen. Claire Moore (Australia)
Mr. Stephen Jones, MP (Australia)
Mr. Andrew Giles, MP (Australia)
Mr. Pat Conroy, MP (Australia)
Hon. Mark Bultler, MP (Australia)
Sen. Katy Gallagher (Australia)
Sen. Anne Urquhart (Australia)
Sen. Sue Lines (Australia)
Mr. Tim Watts, MP (Australia)
Sen. Gavin Marshall (Australia)
Ms. Joanne Ryan, MP (Australia)
Ms. Melissa Parke, MP (Australia)
Ms. Petra Bayr, MP (Austria)
Mr. Christoph Vavrik, MP (Austria)
Ms. Eva Mückstein, MP (Austria)
Mr. Harald Stefan, MP (Austria)
Mr. Georg Willi, MP (Austria)
Mr. Wolfgang Zinggl, MP (Austria)
Ms. Christiane Brunner, MP (Austria)
Ms. Susanne Winter, MP (Austria)
Ms. Tanja Windbüchler-Souschill, MP (Austria)
Ms. Eva Glawischnig, MP (Austria)
Mr. Dieter Brosz, MP (Austria)
Ms. Berivan Aslan, MP (Austria)
Ms. Nurten Yilmaz, MP (Austria)
Ms. Judith Schwentner, MP (Austria)
Ms. Waltraud Dietrich, MP (Austria)
Ms. Katharina Kucharowits, MP (Austria)
Ms. Elisabeth Pfurtscheller, MP (Austria)
Ms. Elisabeth Grossmann, MP (Austria)
Mr. Johann Hechtl, MP (Austria)
Mr. Johann Hell, MP (Austria)
Mr. Franz Kirchgatterer, MP (Austria)
Ms. Christine Muttonen, MP (Austria)
Ms. Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig, MP (Austria)
Mr. Michael Schickhofer, MP (Austria)
Ms. Dorothea Schittenhelm, MP (Austria)
Mr. Rainer Wimmer, MP (Austria)
Mr. Walter Schopf, MP (Austria)
Ms. Alev Korun, MP (Austria)
Ms. Michaela Steinacker, MP (Austria)
Mrs. Mahjabeen Khaled, MP (Bangladesh)
Hon. Iqbalur Rahim, MP (Bangladesh)
Hon. Tharchen, MP (Bhutan)
Sen. Oscar Ortiz (Bolivia)
Dip. Rodrigo Guzman (Bolivia)
Sen. Ana Amelia Lemos (Brazil)
Dep. Jean Wyllys (Brazil)
Dep. Maria do Rosario (Brazil)
Dep. Ana Perugini (Brazil)
Dep. Chico D'Angelo (Brazil)
Dep. Wadih Damous (Brazil)
Dep. Glauber Braga (Brazil)
Dep. Luciana Santos (Brazil)
Dep. Alice Mazzuco Portugal (Brazil)
Dep. Jandira Feghali (Brazil)
Dep. Chico Alencar (Brazil)
Dep. Ivan Valente (Brazil)
Dep. Moema Gramacho (Brazil)
Dep. Edmilson Rodrigues (Brazil)
Dep. Henrique Fontana (Brazil)
Dep. Raimundo Angelim (Brazil)
Dep. Pedro Uczai (Brazil)
Dep. Valmir Assumption (Brazil)
Dep. Helder Salomao (Brazil)
Dep. Luiza Erundina (Brazil)
Dep. Luiz Couto (Brazil)
Dep. Jo Moraes (Brazil)
Dep. Brunny (Brazil)
Dep. Raul Jungmann (Brazil)
Dep. Arnaldo Jordy (Brazil)
Dep. Roberto Freire (Brazil)
Dep. Joao Carlos Bacelar (Brazil)
Dep. Luizianne Lins (Brazil)
Dep. Margarida Salomao (Brazil)
Dep. Prof. Marcivania Flexa (Brazil)
Dep. Erika Kokay (Brazil)
Dep. Norbert Ndihokubwayo (Burundi)
Dr. Pie Ntavyohanyuma, MP (Burundi)
Dep. Drissa Sanogo (Burkina Faso)
Hon. Son Chhay, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Sok Um Sea, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Pol Ham, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Nuth Rumduol, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Ho Vann, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Khy Vandeth, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Mu Sochua, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Pot Peou, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Long Botta, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Te Chanmony, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Keo Phirum, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Men Sothavarin, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Kimsour Phearith, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Yont Tharo, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Yem Ponhearith, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Chiv Cata, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Ke Sovannroth, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Pin Ratana, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Vann Narith, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Lath Littay, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Ou Chanrith, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Tok Vanchan, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Uch Serey Yuth, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Long Ry, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Long Bunny, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Heng Danaro, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Tep Sothy, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Ngim Nheng, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Nhay Chamroeun, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Kong Kimhak, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Um Saman, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Ngo Kim Chheang, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Cheam Channy, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Lim Kim Ya, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Kem Sokha, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Mao Monyvan, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Tuon Yokda, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Yim Sovann, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Tioulong Saumura, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Keo Sambath, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Pot Pov, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Dam Sith, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Eng Chhai Eang, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Ly Srey Vyna, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Chan Cheng, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Kong Bora, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Tout Khoeurt, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Riel Khemarin, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Kong Saphea, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Ou Chanroth, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Chea Poch, MP (Cambodia)
Hon. Lim Bun Sidareth, MP (Cambodia)
Sen. Ly Neary (Cambodia)
Sen. Chep Kim Eang (Cambodia)
Sen. Suan Van Leng (Cambodia)
Sen. Lay Bony (Cambodia)
Sen. Hong Sok Hour (Cambodia)
Sen. Sor Chan Deth (Cambodia)
Sen. Teav Vannol (Cambodia)
Sen. You Sieng Heng (Cambodia)
Sen. Seng Mardi (Cambodia)
Ms. Marie Rose Nguini Effa, MP (Cameroon)
Hon. Paul Nji Tumasang, MP (Cameroon)
Sen. Raynell Andreychuk (Canada)
Sen. Janis Johnson (Canada)
Dep. Aristides Raimundo Lima (Cape Verde)
Dep. Marcel Djimasse (Central African Republic)
Dep. Theophile Yombombe (Chad)
Dep. Albert Pahimi Padacké (Chad)
Dep. Tchombi Getna Kami (Chad)
Dep. Bady Mahamat Kana (Chad)
Dep. Assil Epainete Djimina (Chad)
Dep. Amouna Liady (Chad)
Dep. Merci Kosmadji (Chad)
Dep. Haouane Ali Alimé (Chad)
Dep. Mahamat Nour Achta (Chad)
Dep. Hadje Zahara Affono (Chad)
Dep. Biroue Wassi Kaibaina (Chad)
Dep. Malachie Djenguinade (Chad)
Dep. Ildjima Abdraman (Chad)
Dep. Delphine Dingamadji Ngarkoutou Moryo (Chad)
Dep. Ogueye Nargaye (Chad)
Dep. Mahamat Saleh Ahmat (Chad)
Dep. Sodja Adjobma (Chad)
Dep. Rene Alladoun Alnoudjim (Chad)
Dep. Napoleon Bonaparte Kone (Chad)
Dep. Habiba Sahoulba (Chad)
Dep. Nemba Djedanem (Chad)
Dep. Nouracham Ramadan (Chad)
Dep. Hamid Mansoura (Chad)
Dep. Denise Keimbadje Betoudji (Chad)
Dep. Haroun Kabadi (Chad)
Dep. Eugenie Mbainaye (Chad)
Dep. Mahamadou Djouga Djoddi (Chad)
Dep. Mamadou Kourtou (Chad)
Dep. Weidou Adjedoué (Chad)
Dep. Adeli Edji Tarsou (Chad)
Dep. Nassardjimti Mordjimngarti (Chad)
Dep. Ahmat Annadif Khatir (Chad)
Dep. Ahmat Issa Badi (Chad)
Dip. Tucapel Jiménez (Chile)
Rep. Angela Maria Robledo (Colombia)
Dip. Ronny Monge Salas (Costa Rica)
Dip. Gonzalo Ramirez (Costa Rica)
Dip. Marvin Atencio (Costa Rica)
Sen. Isabelle Kabamba (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Sen. Sebastien Adambu (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Sen. Hamuli Kitsa (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Sen. Mulaila Thekys (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Dep. Dieudonne Upira Sunguma Kagimbi (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Dep. Okundji Ndjovu Emery (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Dep. Eve Bazaiba Masudi (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Dip. Juan Andrés Comprés Brito (Dominican Republic)
Dip. Nelson de Jesús Arroyo Perdomo (Dominican Republic)
Dip. Olfalida Almonte Santos (Dominican Republic)
Dip. Minou Tavárez Mirabal (Dominican Republic)
Dip. Víctor Suárez (Dominican Republic)
Dip. Victor Bisono (Dominican Republic)
Dip. Magda Rodríguez (Dominican Republic)
Sen. Julio César Valentín Jiminián (Dominican Republic)