By: Claudia Barney, Staff Reporter

Today the Human Rights Council (HRC) unanimously passed HCR/I/, and has already begun work on Draft Resolution BB regarding topic II: consequences of child, early, and forced marriage.

This morning the Representatives in the HRC worked to strengthen their Resolution and ultimately passed it. HCR/I/1 both acknowledges the United Nations’ commitment to the human rights to clean water and sanitation, and puts forward several solutions to expand access to these rights. Among other measures, the Resolution calls upon the World Health Organization (WHO) to collaborate with organizations such as Doctors Without Borders to treat water borne illnesses, requests a yearly meeting within the UN to discuss progress made on the issue and requests that members of the international community assist in providing funding and resources to expand access to clean water and proper sanitation. Representative Christine Eldrenkamp of Senegal said that the Representatives were able to find consensus fairly easily and work together to narrow and meet their goals. 

The issue of child, early and forced marriage impacts the rights of children and women to not only consensual marriage, but to freedom from violence, education and certain health care. The United Nations has held multiple conventions and involved multiple bodies to discuss and address this problem, even lowering the number of women who were married as children by 15 percent in the last decade; however, this is a complicated issue that still remains urgent. Child marriage is illegal under international law yet it remains a common practice in part because of how difficult it can be to enforce a ban on child marriage, various cultural traditions around marriage and because it can be worsened by economic and social issues.

Representative Logan Boynton of Kazakhstan says that when it comes to this issue and the creation of Draft Resolution BB, all the Representatives involved are working toward similar objectives and acknowledge the consequences of child marriage not only on the individual level. The Representative said that these marriages are a tool of economic disparity, but if these young women are able to have access to education they might be able to create wealth and independence for themselves, and not have to rely on support from their families or spouses. So far, their Draft Resolution calls upon Member States to not only reevaluate their policies around marriage age but also support the education of their women and children.

If this Council continues at their current pace, they may have this second Resolution passed by the end of the night.

_{The views and opinions expressed in this article were part of a simulation of the United Nations held from 18 to 21 November 2023 and do not reflect the views and opinions of the American Model United Nations Conference, American Model United Nations International, LLC. or the governing bodies of the states mentioned in the article.}