Belarus

4.7% of girls in Belarus marry before the age of 18.

1.6% of boys in Belarus marry before the age of 18.

Child marriage in Belarus is relatively rare. However within the minority Roma community it is not uncommon for girls and boys to be married in their teens.

Child marriage is prevalent in Vitebsk (20.3%), Gomel (5.4%), Mogilev (6.7%) and Minsk City (2.8%).

Child marriage in Belarus is more prevalent in rural areas (8.6%) than in urban areas (3.8%).

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 Belarus, but available studies show that it is exacerbated by:

● Level of education: 27.9% of girls who had basic education were married before the age of 18, compared to 1% who had completed higher education.

● Poverty: Girls from Belarus’ poorest households are more likely to marry before the age of 18 (10.1%) than girls living in the richest households (6.7%).

● Ethnicity: According to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, child marriage is particularly prevalent among the Roma community in Belarus.

Belarus 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.

Belarus ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, which the Committee on the Rights of the Child has interpreted to recommend the establishment of a minimum age of marriage of 18, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1981, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

In 2020, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child noted that the marriage of girls under 18 is prevalent in the Roma community in Belarus. The Committee recommended Belarus to amend its legislation to remove all exceptions that allow marriage under the age of 18 years, conduct awareness-raising campaigns and encourage the reporting of child marriage.

The 2017-2020 National Plan of Action to Ensure Gender Equality includes among its objectives to ensure equal rights for men and women, and improving legislation and its practical application. This action plan is a step forward in achieving the outcomes and targets linked to Sustainable Development Goal 5.

Under Article 18 of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Marriage and Family, the minimum age of marriage is 18 years. However, in “exceptional cases” of pregnancy, delivery of a child or cases of acquiring full legal capacity before reaching majority, the body registering acts of civil status may lower the age of marriage by up to three years.