Cape Verde

8% of girls in Cabo Verde marry or enter a union before the age of 18 and 2% marry before the age of 15.

2% of boys in Cabo Verde marry before the age of 18.

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 Cabo Verde.

Cabo Verde 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 2021 High Level Political Forum but there was no mention of child marriage. The government has not submitted a Voluntary National Review in any High Level Political Forum since.

Cabo Verde co-sponsored the 2015 Human Rights Council resolution to end child, early and forced marriage, recognising that it is a violation of human rights. Cabo Verde also signed a joint statement at the 2014 Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

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

Cabo Verde acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992, 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 1980, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

In 2019, the CEDAW Committee expressed concerns about the harmful practice of early de facto unions, which amount to child marriage, affecting girls as young as 12 years of age. The Committee recommended Cabo Verde to amend the Civil Code to prohibit the de facto union of girls who are under 18 years of age, and implement awareness-raising measures to prevent the practice.

In 2019, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed similar concerns about the practice of child marriage and de facto unions in Cabo Verde. The Committee recommended that the country amend its legislation to remove all exceptions that allow marriage under the age of 18 years, and strengthen its efforts to end child marriage, including through awareness-raising campaigns.

During its 2018 Universal Periodic Review, Cabo Verde agreed to review recommendations to undertake the necessary awareness and education efforts to stop the practice of early marriage and early pregnancy.

In 1993 Cabo Verde ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, including Article 21 regarding the prohibition of child marriage.

In 2005 Cabo Verde ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, including Article 6 which sets the minimum age for marriage as 18.

As a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in 2017 Cabo Verde adopted the Strategic Framework for Strengthening National Child Protection Systems under which protecting children from marriage is a priority. In June 2019, the ECOWAS Heads of State endorsed the ECOWAS Child Policy and Strategic Action Plan and the 2019-2030 Roadmap on prevention and response to child marriage.

In addition, in July 2019, the ECOWAS First Ladies signed “The Niamey Declaration: Call to End Child Marriage and to promote the Education and empowerment of Girls”, calling Member States to initiate legislative, institutional and budgetary reforms to implement the Roadmap.

Cabo Verde is a partner country of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).

COVID-19 had a negative impact on girls and women in Cabo Verde. Cabo Verde was hit hard by the pandemic and strict containment measures were adopted in March 2020, and a state of emergency was declared. Women constitute the majority of informal and domestic workers as well as workers in the tourism sector and were disproportionally affected by the economic impact of the pandemic.

The government launched a cash transfer programme in April 2020, providing monthly income support to the poorest and most vulnerable households in Cabo Verde. As such, the programme provided regular cash transfers to around 5200 households, of which 84 percent were female-headed households, representing almost 20 percent of the poor.

In accordance to the Civil Code, the legal age of marriage for girls and boys is 18 years old (Art. 133).

However, a parent or guardian can authorise the marriage of a minor under the age of 18 years old, but over the age of 16 years old (Art. 1575). In exceptional circumstances, minors under the age of 16 years old can be married off provided that an official request by a legal authority is made (Art. 1612 & 1649).