Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages

The Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage, and Registration of Marriages is a treaty agreed upon in the United Nations on the standards of marriage. The treaty was drafted by the Commission on the Status of Women and opened for signature and ratification by General Assembly resolution 1763 A (XVII) on 7 November 1962. It was entered into force 9 December 1964 by exchange of letters, in accordance with article 6. The convention has been signed by 16 countries and there are 55 parties to the convention. The convention is based on article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Convention reaffirms the consensual nature of marriages and requires the parties to establish a minimum marriage age by law and to ensure the registration of marriages.

History The idea for the convention first developed during the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery adopted by a Conference of Plenipotentiaries in 1956. This 1956 convention included articles which asserted that underage and forced marriage was a form of slavery. Within article 1 of the convention, certain types of marriage were classified as slavery. The convention stated that institutions or practices that included forced marriage for payment, the transfer of a woman from her marriage/marriage family to transfer her for value, the transfer of a woman upon the death of the husband.

In 1957, the Commission on the Status of Women requested the Economic and Social Council to work on the convention. The draft articles, comments, and revised text were requested by the Commission in its twelfth session in 1958. The Commission on the Status of Women requested the Secretary-General to draft a convention and a recommendation on this issues.

Summary of Articles Article 1: Marriages should be entered into with the "full and free consent" of both parties.

Article 2: States participating in the convention shall set laws for the minimum age of marriage.

Article 3: Marriages should be registered by the relevant authority.

Article 4: The convention was open for signature until 31 December 1963 and is subject to ratification.

Article 5: The convention is open for accession for all states referred to in Article 4.

Article 6: This article details the date of accession for all states that are part of the Convention

Article 7: This articles outlines the process of denunciation of the Convention

Article 8: Disputes regarding interpretation or application should be referred to the International Court of Justice.

Article 9: The Secretary-General shall notify relevant parties of signatures, instruments, date that the Convention enters into force, notifications of denunciation, and abrogation.

Article 10: The convention is published in several languages and is deposited in the archives of the United Nations. The Secretary-General shall transmit a copy to relevant parties.

List of signatories and parties Participant Signature Ratification, accession, succession Antigua and Barbuda 25 Oct 1988 Argentina 26 Feb 1970 Austria 1 Oct 1969 Azerbaijan 16 Aug 1996 Bangladesh 5 Oct 1998 Barbados 1 Oct 1979 Benin 19 Oct 1965 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 Sep 1993 Brazil 11 Feb 1970 Burkina Faso 8 Dec 1964 Chile10 Dec 1962 Côte d'Ivoire 18 Dec 1995 Croatia 12 Oct 1992 Canada 23 Mar 1991 Cuba17 Oct 196320 Aug 1965 Cyprus 30 Jul 2002 Czech Republic 22 Feb 1993 Denmark31 Oct 1963 8 Sep 1964 Dominican Republic 8 Oct 1964 Fiji 19 Jul 1971 Finland 18 Aug 1964 France10 Dec 196214 Oct 2010 Germany 9 Jul 1969 Greece 3 Jan 1963 Guatemala 18 Jan 1983 Guinea10 Dec 196224 Jan 1978 Hungary 5 Nov 1975 Iceland 18 Oct 1977 Israel10 Dec 1962 Italy20 Dec 1963 Jordan 1 Jul 1992 Kyrgyzstan 10 Feb 1997 Liberia 16 Sep 2005 Libya 6 Sep 2005 Macedonia 18 Jan 1994 Mali 19 Aug 1964 Mexico 22 Feb 1983 Mongolia 6 Jun 1991 Montenegro 23 Oct 2006 Netherlands10 Dec 1962 2 Jul 1965 New Zealand23 Dec 196312 Jun 1964Niger1 Dec 1964 Norway 10 Sep 1964 Philippines 5 Feb 196321 Jan 1965 Poland17 Dec 1962 8 Jan 1965 Romania27 Dec 196321 Jan 1993 Rwanda 26 Sep 2003 Samoa 24 Aug 1964 Serbia 12 Mar 2001 Slovakia 28 May 1993 South Africa 29 Jan 1993 Spain 15 Apr 1969 Sri Lanka12 Dec 1962 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 27 Apr 1999 Sweden10 Dec 196216 Jun 1964 Trinidad and Tobago 2 Oct 1969 Tunisia 24 Jan 1968 United Kingdom 9 Jul 1970 United States10 Dec 1962 Venezuela 31 May 1983 Yemen 9 Feb 1987Yugoslavia10 Dec 196219 June 1964 Zimbabwe 23 Nov 1994

Status of child marriage Despite the development of this convention, child marriage and forced marriage are still an issue worldwide. More than 12 million girls were forced into marriage in 2020.

On December 10, 2019, then Philippine president Rodrigo R. Duterte signed into law Republic Act 11596 or the "An Act Prohibiting the Practice of Child Marriage and Imposing Penalties for Violations Thereof" thereby criminalizing the practice of child marriage in the Philippines. The law was enacted in compliance with the Philippine obligation under the convention. The law prohibits marriage between a child and a child or between an adult and a child. This is whether in informal union or cohabitation outside of wedlock between an adult and a child, or between children. The law intends to abolish all traditional and cultural practices and structures that perpetuate discrimination, abuse. However, while the law also declared child betrothal as has no legal effect it does not provide any penalty thereof.

See also Universal Declaration of Human Rights Human trafficking United Nations Commission on the Status of Women Age of Marriage Act 1929

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