Seychelles

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

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 Seychelles.

Seychelles 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 2020 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.

Seychelles co-sponsored the 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2022 UN General Assembly resolutions on child, early and forced marriage, and signed a joint statement at the 2014 Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

Seychelles acceded to 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 1992, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

In 1992 Seychelles ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, including Article 21 regarding the prohibition of child marriage. In 2006 Seychelles 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.

During its 2018 review, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child reiterated previous recommendations to raise the minimum age of marriage for girls to 18.

In 2019, the CEDAW Committee urged Seychelles to ensure that the Civil Code of Seychelles bill, which raises the legal minimum age of marriage to 18 years for both girls and boys, is adopted and implemented expeditiously.

In 2019, at the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, Seychelles committed to end gender-based violence and harmful practices against women and girls.

Under the Civil Status Act 1980 the minimum legal age of marriage is 15 years for girls and 18 years for boys. However in “grave” situations they may marry before this if the Minister gives consent.

The Civil Code of Seychelles bill, which as of November 2019 had been introduced in the National Assembly, aims to raise the legal minimum age of marriage to 18 years for both girls and boys.