Gabon

13% of girls in Gabon marry before the age of 18 and 3% marry before the age of 15.

5% of boys in Gabon marry before the age of 18.

According to a 2018 UNFPA-UNICEF study, Gabon has seen one of the greatest declines in child marriage in the West and Central Africa region since 1990.

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 Gabon, but available studies suggest that is exacerbated by:

Harmful practices: Customary and religious marriages persist in Gabon. The registration of customary and religious marriages is not mandatory under the law, which leaves girls vulnerable to being married off early, and remain vulnerable within such marriages.

Gabon has committed to eliminate 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.

In 2014, Gabon signed a joint statement at the Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

Gabon ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1994, 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 1983, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

As part of the current review process, the CEDAW Committee has requested Gabon to provide information on the measures taken to prohibit and prevent child marriage.

In 2016, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child urged Gabon to revise its legislation in order to ensure that the minimum age for marriage is set at 18 for girls and to take all measures necessary to eliminate child marriages.

During its 2022 review, the CEDAW Committee acknowledged progress that the government has made, such as reforming legislation, in particular the adoption of Law No. 006/2021 of 6 September 2021, which prohibits all forms of sexual and gender-based violence and sets the legal minimum age of marriage at 18 years for both boys and girls. The Committee also acknowledged the amendment to the Penal Code, which criminalises FGM/C, child marriage, polygamy, and sexual and gender-based violence.

During its 2022 Universal Periodic Review, the CEDAW Committee acknowledged the adoption of Law No. 006/2021 as of September 2021 that raises the legal minimum age of marriage to 18 for both boys and girls, prohibits all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls including rape and domestic violence. Despite the government raising the legal minimum age, the Committee was concerned at the prevalence of polygamous marriages and recommended traditional and religious leaders raise awareness on bringing an end to this harmful practice.

During its 2017 Universal Periodic Review, Gabon supported recommendations to adopt a policy aimed at ending child marriage and to finalise the Children’s Code in order to curb child marriage.

In 2007 Gabon ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, including Article 21 regarding the prohibition of child marriage.

In 2011 Gabon 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.

In 2019, at the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, Gabon committed to put an end to gender-based violence and harmful practices by revising legal texts and organising awareness campaigns.

In 2019, Gabon reported to the CEDAW Committee that a draft Children’s Code, which sets 18 years as the minimum age of marriage for girls and boys, was pending adoption by the Gabonese Parliament. As of early 2020, there was no news on the passing of this new legislation.

As of September 2021, under Law No. 006/2021, the legal minimum age of marriage in Gabon is 18 years for both boys and girls. However, Article 203 of the Civil Code provides that the President of the Republic or the President of the Supreme Court may approve marriages below the minimum age "for serious reasons".