The United Nations General Assembly has designated November 27 as the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage, in a move aimed at strengthening global efforts to end the practice.
The resolution, led by Sierra Leone, was adopted by the General Assembly following an initiative championed by Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Fatima Maada Bio.
The campaign was also supported by Bhuwan Ribhu, founder of the civil society network Just Rights for Children, who had called for the establishment of an international day dedicated to ending child marriage.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), an estimated 12 million girls are married before the age of 18 every year.
The agency also estimates that about 650 million women and girls alive today were married as children, highlighting the scale of the problem globally.
Sierra Leone welcomed the adoption of the resolution, describing it as an important step towards strengthening efforts to protect children and improve access to healthcare and education.
The country said the designation would help accelerate global action towards ending child, early and forced marriage and protecting the rights and future of girls worldwide.
