Chile

There is no publicly available government data on Child, Early, and Forced Marriage and Unions (CEFMU) in Chile.

In the 2021, in State party reports submitted to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, it was raised that according to the Chilean Civil Registration and Identification service, 441 marriages had taken place among children below the age of 18 years.

Child, Early, and Forced Marriage and Unions (CEFMU) are driven by gender inequality and the belief that women and girls are somehow inferior to men and boys.

There is very limited information on CEFMU in Chile.

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

During its Voluntary National Review at the 2017 High Level Political Forum, the government highlighted that the minimum age of marriage is 16, and those under 18 must obtain marriage authorisation by a relative as required by the law. The government did not provide an update on progress towards this target during its Voluntary National Review at the 2019 High Level Political Forum.

The government submitted a Voluntary National Review at the 2023 High Level Political Forum. However, there was no mention of child marriage.

Chile co-sponsored the following Human Rights Council resolutions: the 2013 resolution on child, early and forced marriage, the 2015 resolution to end child, early and forced marriage, recognising that it is a violation of human rights, the 2017 Human Rights Council resolution recognising the need to address child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian contexts, the 2019 Human Rights Council 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, Chile also signed a joint statement at the Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

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

Chile 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 1989, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

During its 2022 review, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that the government remove all exceptions that allow marriage under the age of 18 years.

In 2018 the CEDAW Committee raised concerns that the draft law (Bulletin No. 9850-18) still permits marriages under the age of 18 in exceptional cases. It recommended that the government raise the minimum age for marriage to 18 years without exceptions.

Chile, as a member of the Organization of American States (OAS), is bound to the Inter American System of Human Rights, which recognises the right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and calls on governments to strengthen the response to address gender-based violence and discrimination, including early, forced and child marriage and unions, from a perspective that respected evolving capacities and progressive autonomy.

Chile ratified the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women (known as the Belém do Pará Convention) in 1996. In 2016, the Follow-up Mechanism to the Belém do Pará Convention (MESECVI) recommended State Parties to review and reform laws and practices to increase the minimum age for marriage to 18 years for women and men.

Chile, as a member of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), adopted the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development in 2013, which recognises the need to address the high levels of adolescent pregnancy in the region as usually associated with the forced marriage of girls. In 2016, the Montevideo Strategy for Implementation of the Regional Gender Agenda was also approved by the ECLAC countries. This Agenda encompasses commitments made by the governments on women’s rights and autonomy and gender equality in the last 40 years in the Regional Conferences of Women in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Agenda reaffirms the right to a life free of all forms of violence, including forced marriage and cohabitation for girls and adolescents.

Under the Civil Marriage Law 2004, 18 years is the minimum age of marriage. However, it is possible to marry at 16 years with parental consent.