UN Declares October 27 as International Day Against Child Marriage

The United Nations has designated October 27 as the International Day Against Child Marriage, saying the move is aimed at strengthening the protection of children and investing in human potential, the economy, families and communities.

In a resolution, the UN said preventing child marriage is of vital importance to ensuring children’s safety. It said the issue is part of a broader effort to reduce social harm and support children’s future.

At the same time, the Taliban-run Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice claimed that in the past five years it has prevented thousands of marriages in which child women and girls would have been victims. The ministry did not provide further details on the exact number of such cases or how they were recorded and stopped.

Child marriage is one of the issues of concern for international human rights and child protection bodies, and the UN, by designating international days, usually focuses on raising public awareness and drawing the attention of governments and institutions to such issues.