Palau

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

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 Palau.

Palau has committed to eliminate child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals. In its Voluntary National Review at the 2019 High Level Political Forum, Palau recognised child marriage as a harmful practice and committed to amend the law to align with international standards by setting the minimum age of marriage at 18 for girls and boys. The government has not submitted a Voluntary National Review in any High Level Political Forum since.

Palau co-sponsored the 2013 and 2014 UN General Assembly resolutions on child, early and forced marriage.

Palau acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1995, which sets a minimum age of marriage of 18. It signed, but has not yet ratified, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2011, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

During the 2021 Universal Periodic Review, the UN country team and UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern that the legal minimum age was set at 16 years for girls. It recommended that the government ensure that the minimum age be raised to 18 years.

During its 2018 review, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed serious concerns that the legal minimum age of marriage is still set at 16 for girls in Palau. It recommended the government to raise it to 18 years in line with international standards.

During Palau’s 2016 Universal Periodic Review, the government announced pending legislation to equalise the legal minimum age of marriage to 18 years for girls and boys.

Regionally, the Spotlight Pacific Regional Initiative builds on existing commitments across 16 Pacific Island countries, Palau being one of them.

Under Title 21 Section 201 of the National Code 1986 of Palau, the legal minimum age of marriage is at least 18 years for men and at least 16 years for women. Women below the age of 18 require consent from at least one parent/guardian to marry.

There is no legislation specifying the minimum age of marriage for Palauan men or women for customary marriages.

It should be noted that the age of marriage is considered only in connection with administrative formalities to determine the validity of marriages involving or between non-citizens, which are not considered valid if celebrated by Palauan custom. In such cases, the minimum legal age of marriage is 16 years for girls and 18 for boys. Girls aged 16 require parental consent to be married.