Preventing Child Marriage in Displaced Populations Act

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2140 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 11, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations AN ACT To prevent child marriage in refugee settlements administered by the United Nations, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2140.RFS H2140 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 2140 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preventing Child Mar- 2 riage in Displaced Populations Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) According to UNICEF, 12 million girls 6 marry before the age of 18 every year. 7 (2) Early marriage denies children, especially 8 girls, their right to make vital decisions about their 9 well-being, including relating to their health, family, 10 and career. Child brides are less likely to finish their 11 education, and are at higher risk for abuse, con- 12 tracting HIV, and dying while pregnant or giving 13 birth. 14 (3) Child marriage also imposes substantial eco- 15 nomic costs to developing countries, impeding devel- 16 opment and prosperity gains. 17 (4) Displaced populations are particularly vul- 18 nerable to child marriage, in communities where pov- 19 erty, instability, and displacement put pressure on 20 families to marry children, particularly young girls, 21 off at a young age. 22 (5) One United Nations (UN) study found that 23 child marriage rates were 4 times higher among dis- 24 placed Syrian refugees than among Syrians before 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2140.RFS H2140 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 2140 RFS the crisis. This indicates that displacement, insta- 1 bility, and poverty are driving child marriages. 2 (6) United Nations agencies, including 3 UNICEF and UNHCR, have acknowledged the dan- 4 gers of child marriage and taken steps to address its 5 risk in the populations they serve. 6 (7) The UN Joint Program on Child Marriage 7 supports this work by building the resilience of pop- 8 ulations to indirectly prevent child marriage and by 9 generating new data and evidence on the prevalence 10 of child marriage in humanitarian and fragile set- 11 tings. For example, in Uganda, the UN Joint Pro- 12 gram on Child Marriage helped 27,000 adolescent 13 girls strengthen critical skills through school clubs 14 and Go Back to School campaigns, as well as life- 15 skills and financial literacy training. 16 (8) After the UN Joint Program on Child Mar- 17 riage identified Yemen as one of its focus countries, 18 65,000 people, of whom 45,000 are adolescents, 19 were reached with awareness raising activities on the 20 harms of child marriage in 2018 alone. As a result, 21 local council representatives, elders, and community 22 leaders from six districts signed a pledge to support 23 advocacy efforts to end child marriage. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2140.RFS H2140 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 2140 RFS SEC. 3. PREVENTING CHILD MARRIAGE IN DISPLACED POP- 1 ULATIONS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall direct the 3 United States Permanent Representative to the United 4 Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United 5 States at the United Nations to call for an adoption of 6 an agreed-upon definition of ‘‘child marriage’’ across 7 United Nations agencies. 8 (b) STRATEGY.—The President shall direct the 9 United States Permanent Representative to the United 10 Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United 11 States at the United Nations to call for the development 12 of a comprehensive strategy to address child marriage in 13 refugee settlements administered by the United Nations. 14 Such strategy should include the following: 15 (1) A mandate to regularly collect and report 16 data related to the number of known or suspected 17 child marriages taking place inside each such settle- 18 ment. 19 (2) Protocols for United Nations personnel re- 20 garding prevention and monitoring of child mar- 21 riages inside each such settlement. 22 (3) A description of United Nations programs 23 administered at such settlements that include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2140.RFS H2140 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 2140 RFS (A) physical, mental, and emotional reha- 1 bilitation and support to children who have ex- 2 tricated themselves from child marriage; and 3 (B) alternatives to child marriage, such as 4 education initiatives. 5 (4) Protocols regarding how United Nations 6 personnel should— 7 (A) report adults participating in illegal 8 child marriages in each such settlement; and 9 (B) monitor the prosecution of such adults 10 by the authorities of the country in which the 11 settlement at issue is located. 12 (c) RESEARCH.—The President shall direct the 13 United States Permanent Representative to the United 14 Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United 15 States at the United Nations to advocate for the United 16 Nations and its appropriate agencies to include, as appro- 17 priate, in all of its research into child marriage the rela- 18 tionship between child marriage and violence against girls, 19 including young children and infants. 20 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 21 (1) CHILD MARRIAGE.—The term ‘‘child mar- 22 riage’’ means a formal marriage or informal union 23 involving at least one person younger than age 18. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2140.RFS H2140 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 2140 RFS (2) ILLEGAL CHILD MARRIAGE.—The term ‘‘il- 1 legal child marriage’’ means a child marriage that is 2 illegal under the laws of the country in which the 3 child marriage occurs. 4 Passed the House of Representatives June 10, 2019. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jun 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2140.RFS H2140 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS