Dear friend,

As civil society, governments, donors, and activists gathered for the 69th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), one message rang clear: ending child marriage and advancing the rights of adolescent girls must remain a top priority. At Girls Not Brides, we remain committed to working with our members and partners around the world to ensure that every girl, everywhere, can choose if, when and whom to marry — and shape her own future. Because dreams should never have barriers — and neither should girls’ futures.

📢 NEWS & UPDATES

📢 Legal reforms: Kuwait and Portugal raise the minimum age of marriage to 18

Kuwait and Portugal have recently taken major steps to protect the rights of adolescent girls and boys by raising the minimum legal age for marriage to 18 years.

These legal reforms are vital steps towards ending child, early, and forced marriages (CEFM). However, laws alone are not enough. To ensure that girls and women can make informed choices about marriage, their bodies, education, and work, legal reform must be accompanied by gender-transformative policies and services that address the root causes of child marriage. Evidence also shows that criminalising child marriage can have unintended consequences, highlighting the need for a comprehensive, supportive approach.

Engaging with UN human rights mechanisms to address child marriage: reflections from Kenya and Uganda 

Since its publication last year, National Partnerships in Kenya and Uganda have begun applying the toolkit in their advocacy work – Girls Not Brides Kenya through the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), and Girls Not Brides Uganda via the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Their advocacy activities include submitting shadow reports, preparing a written statement and participating in a pre-session to raise critical concerns around child marriage at the national level. These efforts are already influencing policy recommendations and are crucial to shaping government accountability.  

Reflection, Renewal and Recommitment to Africa's Children

Reflections from the 45th Ordinary Session of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC).

Participants of the 45th Ordinary Session of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

At the 45th Ordinary Session of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC), held from 7–11 April 2025 in Maseru, Lesotho, Girls Not Brides joined member states and advocates to reflect on 35 years of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Key discussions included state accountability, strengthening partnerships, and the launch of a 35-week campaign to mark the Charter’s anniversary.

UN call for inputs for a new treaty to strengthen the right to free education 

The United Nations has issued an invitation for submissions for the preparation of the first session of the Open-ended intergovernmental working group on an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This optional protocol would explicitly recognise children’s right to early childhood education, including at least one year of free public pre-primary education, and free public secondary education, which is not currently guaranteed under international law. 

The submissions made by civil society can help influence the drafting process for the treaty, which begins in September 2025. The deadline for submissions is 18^th May 2025. 

Useful resources for organisations interested in inputting to this process: 

• Sample template for submissions (in English, French and Spanish) with guidance on possible information to include and highlighting how the right to free education is key for preventing child marriage. 

• List of all countries (in English) with information about their provision of free education, to help inform submissions. 

• Girls Not Brides article providing context for our recent advocacy efforts to help establish the optional protocol and its relevance to the ending child marriage agenda. 

• UNESCO blog on the critical relevance of civil society inputs for influencing the treaty. 

📝 LEARNING & RESOURCES

Join us for our Learning Series call on ending child marriage! 

Beyond the usual data: Using Alternative Sources of Evidence

Data is one of the most powerful tools we have to address child marriage. But with the end of the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program, the future of large-scale national data sets is uncertain. While existing sources remain valuable, they have limitations – and many organisations need more timely, context-specific data to drive meaningful change.

Join us to:

• Understand gaps in national surveys
• Explore alternative data sources – including the data your organisation already collects.
• Learn from Girls Not Brides members
• Discover practical tools and resources.

IN CASE YOU MISSED

The interlinkages between climate change and child marriage

For every 10% change in rainfall, child marriage increases by 1%.

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