Following on from the 2024 Regional Convening on the SADC Model Law, Girls Not Brides, the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF), Plan International, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNICEF and Hivos made a commitment to strengthen our partnership to ensure that collectively, the SADC region continues to experience a decline in child marriage rates.
As a key commitment, Girls Not Brides, Plan International, UNFPA, UNICEF, and Hivos, participated in the 56th Plenary Assembly Session of the SADC PF, themed “Leveraging Technology and Innovation for Smart, Inclusive, and Responsive Parliaments in the SADC Region.” As part of this session, the collaborative partners conducted a side event and issued a joint statement.
The primary aim of these initiatives was to drive the harmonization of legal frameworks across the region to protect children and young women better. Specifically, this included addressing inconsistencies within countries with dual legal systems that create contradictions between customary and statutory laws. The ultimate goal is to establish a uniform minimum marriage age of 18 across all SADC countries, with no exceptions, thereby ensuring a cohesive legal stance against child marriage.
The goal of the side event and the joint statement was to secure support from regional policymakers for effectively domesticating the Model Law and committing to sustainable, cohesive strategies to end CEFMU. As a partnership, we were able to assess progress, facilitate unified action and build on commitment.
Read the joint statement as we anticipate and look forward to strengthened partnerships and accelerated progress in the SADC region in 2025.