Andorra

There is no publicly available government data on child marriage in Andorra.

Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that women and girls are somehow inferior to men and boys.

There is very limited information on child marriage in Andorra.

Andorra has committed to ending child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The government submitted a Voluntary National Review at the 2022 High-Level Political Forum; however, there was no mention of child marriage.

Andorra co-sponsored the following Human Rights Council resolutions: the 2013 procedural resolution on CEFM, the 2015 resolution on CEFM, the 2017 resolution on recognising the need to address CEFM in humanitarian contexts, the 2019 resolution on the consequences of child marriage, the 2021 resolution on child, early and forced marriage in times of crisis, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2023 resolution on ending and preventing forced marriage. In 2014, Andorra also signed a joint statement at the Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

Andorra co-sponsored the 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022 UN General Assembly resolutions on child, early and forced marriage.

Andorra ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1996, which the Committee on the Rights of the Child has interpreted to recommend the establishment of a minimum age of marriage of 18, and acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1997, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

During its 2023 review, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child noted the prohibition of marriage under the age of 18 years without any exceptions under the Qualified Act on Persons and Families.

During its 2013 review, the CEDAW Committee raised concerns that the legal minimum age for marriage in Andorra was 14 for girls and boys. It recommended raising it to 18 years. During its 2019 review, the CEDAW Committee reiterated its concerns regarding the minimum age of marriage and recommended Andorra to raise it to 18 years in line with international standards.

During its 2015 Universal Periodic Review, Andorra supported recommendations to ensure strong legislative protection for children, including by increasing the minimum age for marriage to 18.

Andorra has ratified the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combatting violence against women and domestic violence (known as the Istanbul Convention), which considers forced marriage a serious form of violence against women and girls, and legally binds state parties to criminalise the intentional conduct of forcing an adult or child into a marriage.

Under Article 81 of Qualified Act No. 30/2022, on Persons and Families, as amended by Qualified Act No. 12/2023, the minimum age of marriage for both girls and boys is 18 years with no exceptions.