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The Gender Unit of the Centre for Human Rights organised a two day child marriage dialogue with 27 participants from South Africa and Mozambique in collaboration with the Commonwealth Initiative. The child marriage dialogue was held on 5 and 6 May 2016 at the Protea Hotel, Hatfield, Pretoria, South Africa.

The Gender Unit has been providing technical support to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ (African Commission) Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa (SRRWA) in the area of child marriage through the drafting of:

  • a report on child marriage to be adopted by the African Commission; and
  • general comments on child marriage to be adopted by the African Commission and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

This child marriage dialogue was held in the context of supporting the mechanism of the SRRWA towards the eradication of child marriage.

The main objective of the child marriage dialogue was to bring together stakeholders working at the community level, including religious and community leaders, to discuss the different initiatives, the challenges faced and the different ways in which partnerships could be strengthened. Discussions included marriage under customary law, child marriage in the different communities, the reasons for eradicating child marriage, the regional and political commitments to end child marriage, the role of human rights institutions, and the role of traditional leaders.

Furthermore, there were group discussions for a road map for change on ending child marriage. At the end of the workshop, participants committed to the following: 

  • To intensify social mobilisation;
  • To work with the media, National Human Rights Institutions, traditional/religious leaders;
  • To work with the national strategy and to concretise national plans of actions;
  • To continue to work with traditional/religious leaders;
  • To develop strategies to create awareness of the negative effects of child marriage; and
  • To strengthen research and training in the area of child marriage.

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