Activities of Soraya POST related to 2017/2275(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT Towards an EU external strategy against early and forced marriages – next steps PDF (529 KB) DOC (81 KB)
Amendments (33)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4
Citation 4
– having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1989, and its four fundamentgeneral principles of non- discrimination (Article 2), best interests of the child (Article 3), survival, development and protection (Article 6) and participation (Article 12),
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
– having regard to the general comment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on harmful practices,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
– having regard to the joint general recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)
Citation 7 a (new)
– having regard to the UN Human Rights Council’s resolutions on Strengthening efforts to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage, resolution 24/23 of 9 October 2013, resolution 29/8 of 22 July 2015, resolution 35/16 of 12 July 2017,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15
Citation 15
– having regard to the European Consensus on Development (2017), which underscores the EU’s commitment to mainstreaming human rights and gender equality in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas various international charters and laws prohibit the marriage of minorschildren; whereas child, early and forced marriage violates human rights and fundamental freedoms, is a discriminatory practice and manifestation of women’s and girls’ unequal status in society, and has negative health effects (including physical, psychological, emotional, social, economic); whereas early and forced marriage has a very negative impact on the personal development of the individuals concerned and on the children resulting from the marriage;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas child, early and forced marriages are linked to high rates of maternal mortality, lower use of family planning and unwanted pregnancies, and usually signal the end of a girl’s educationand child mortality and morbidity, highly inadequate or non- existent access to information about family planning, including sexual and reproductive health services, and higher rates of pregnancies with increased health risks, and usually signal the end of a girl’s education, which also impacts the future education and health prospectives of her siblings;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas child, early and forced marriage is also an obstacle to the social and economic development of countries and regions;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas both boys and girls are affected by child, early, and forced marriage but that there is a disproportionately devastating impact on girls, such as early pregnancy and childbirth, which is based on gender inequality and is thus a form of gendered violence, and thus eradicating child marriage is a strategic way of promoting women's rights and their empowerment;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas child, early and forced marriages very often deprive the persons concerned of the possibility to continue their studies; whereas education is an effective way of preventing child, early and forced marriage, allowing girls to free themselves from any form of control adversely affecting their rights; whereas child, early and forced marriage perpetuates the vicious cycle of poverty which affects girls and women even more than men and boys;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas child, early and forced marriages very often deprive the persons concerned of the possibility to continue their studies; whereas education is an effective way of preventing child, early and forced marriage, allowing girls to free themselves from any form of control adversely affecting their rights;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas child-mothers are exposed to considerable risks and difficulties during pregnancy and childbirth, particularly owing to highly inadequate or non- existent medical support, early and forced marriage exposes girls to early childbearing involving to considerable risks and difficulties during pregnancy and childbirth, frequently resulting in maternal mortality and morbidity; whereas there is an increased risk of contracting viral infections such as HIVsexually transmitted infections, including HIV; whereas children born to children have a lower survival rate than those born to women of 19 years and over;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas child, early and forced marriages are a violation of the rights of the child and a form of violence against girls, and whereas, as such, theystates have an obligation to investigate allegations, prosecute perpetrators, and provide redress to victims; whereas child, early and forced marriage must be condemned; whereas child, early and forced marriages are often associated with domestican increased risk of domestic and intimate partner violence and sexual abuse;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the number of early and forced marriages increases significantly in situations of armed conflict and natural and humanitarian disaster, which leave little scope forduring which medical and psychological care; whereas during the recent migration crises, many are often lacking; whereas within humanitarian settings, some parents, seeking to protect their daughters from sexual aggression, chose or because they are regarded as financial burdens to their families, feel they have no choice but to have them marry before the age of 18;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on legislators, both in the EU and in third countries, to set the minimum age for marriage at 18 years and to provide themselves with theadopt necessary administrative, legal and financial means to be able to comply with this requirement, which is also set out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child article 3, and to ensure that girls have access to institutional support mechanisms including psycho-social counselling, protection mechanisms and opportunities for economic empowerment;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Believes it is important to tackle the multiple causes of child, early and forced marriage, including age-old traditions havingndered social norms and traditions, customs, stereotypes and harmful practises which have little regard for gender equality and women’s affairnd girls’ rights, the lack of educational opportunities and, very often, the endemic poverty in the communities concerned, conflict or post-conflict settings, lack of knowledge of both the parents and children about sexual and reproductive rights and the health risks of early pregnancy;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Recognises that a statutory ban on child, early and forced marriage by itself would not guarantee an end to this practice and therefore calls for every effort to be made to enforce such bans and complement them with other measures; recognises this requires the adoption of comprehensive and holistic policies, strategies and programmes, including the repeal of discriminatory legal provisions concerning marriage, the adoption of affirmative measures to empower girl children, and ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health care and information for all girls and women;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that the lack of respect forimbalance of power between men and women and boys and girls, and women in generals well as discrimination against women and girls, is one of the biggest obstacles to combating child, early and forced marriage and calls for it to be addressed in all the EU’s relevant programming and in the EU’s political dialogues with partner countries as well as through education and awareness- raising efforts in partner countries;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Points out that in order to comprehensively tackle child, early and forced marriage, the European Union, as a major actor in global development, must play a leading role;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls, therefore, on all Member States to be consistent and to include a ban oncomplete ban on child, early and forced marriage in their legislation, irrespective of parental consent, requiring the full consent of both spouses and setting sanctions for those who coerce someone to marry, education for all relevant professionals on the issue of child, early and forced marriage, clear mandate for the police and social services to prevent and retrieve a child that is taken away abroad for marriage and the sufficient resources to this aim, sufficient and long term support for women's shelters, so that no-one is denied protection due to lack of resources;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recommends that Member States align their legislation on the treatment of immigrants who married before the age of 18 and not recognise early and forced marriages, while extending humanitarian treatment to those who married by force or before the age of 18;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – point a
Paragraph 8 – point a
a. all its partner countries prohibit child, early and forced marriage and eliminate any legal loopholes in the legislation;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – point b
Paragraph 8 – point b
b. this prohibition is respected in practice once the law has entered into force, and that comprehensive and holistic strategies and programmes are put in place to prevent and eradicate child, early and forced marriage;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – point b a (new)
Paragraph 8 – point b a (new)
ba. partner governments show sustained leadership and political will to end child, early and forced marriage and strengthen their capacity to address child marriage across different sectors;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – point c
Paragraph 8 – point c
c. the resources needed to achieve this objective are mobilised, taking care to open this cooperation to all institutional actors such as the judiciary, educational and health professionals, law enforcement, and community and religious leaders as well as non-governmental organisations with undoubted expertise in the area of tackling child, early and forced marriage;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – point d
Paragraph 8 – point d
d. the level of public development aid is made dependent on the recipient country’s commitment to complying with the requirements in the fight against child, early and forced marriage;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – point d a (new)
Paragraph 8 – point d a (new)
da. adequate funds are dedicated to monitoring and evaluation of programmes and methods to end child, early and forced marriage;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – point e
Paragraph 8 – point e
e. the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) programme is implemented in triangular cooperation involving these organisations, the European Union and the developing countries in combating child, early and forced marriage, prioritising programmes and methods likely to go beyond so-called cultural, religious or tribal practices that, in reality, constitute the worst violations of the rights of children and the dignity of girls;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 – point f
Paragraph 8 – point f
f. the implementation of these programmes builds on the relevant conventions and texts, as well as the specific goals and targets adopted by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution of 25 September 2015 in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 3 (‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well- being for all at all ages’), Goal 4 (‘Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning’) and, Goal 5 (‘Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’), including access to all sexual and reproductive health services, in particular safe abortion for girls, and Goal 16 (‘Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies’), especially ‘end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children’;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Considers it important to raise awareness among the public in general and among those at risk in particular on the basis of awareness-raising campaigns and through social networks and new media as part of the fight against child, early and forced marriage;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Recognises the need for support and protection for those who are at risk of child, early, or forced marriage, and those who are already in such a marriage, including education about their rights, as well as sexual and reproductive health and contraception;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the European Union to ensure that training is provided to law enforcement agencies, government officials, religious and community leaders, and other relevant actors so that they are better able to uphold the rights of girls exposed to forced and earlychild, early and forced marriage, domestic violence, the risk of rape and sexual violence and any other practice which undermines human rights and dignity;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Recognises that the European Union, which is committed to upholding human rights and fundamental values, including respect for human dignity, must be absolutely irreproachable at Member State level, and calls on the Commission to initiate a wide- ranging awareness-raising campaign and to dedicate a European year to the fight against child, early and forced marriage;