24 Amendments of Louis MICHEL related to 2017/2275(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas forced marriage and early marriage, that is to say ‘marriage entered into without the free and valid consent of one or both spouses, or before the age of 18’1a, is a violation of the human rights enshrined in international conventions, and which form part of the core principles embodied in the European Union as an area of security, freedom, and justice; __________________ 1a United Nations Convention of 7 November 1962 on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages. Resolution 1468 (2005) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on forced marriages and child marriages.
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas, given that a minor aged under 18 cannot validly consent to marriage, child marriages must be regarded as forced marriages; whereas it is regrettable, therefore, that 144 out of 193 countries have no law banning child marriages;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. whereas according to UN estimates almost 700 million women and 150 million men are in forced marriages which were contracted before they reached majority;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas early marriages and forced marriages in themselves constitute an obstacle to development, and whereas the fact that such marriages continue to be arranged has held back efforts to achieve goals 1 to 6 of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular in the areas of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, poverty reduction, education, maternal and child mortality and health, including sexual and reproductive health3a; __________________ 3aResolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations of 21 November 2014 on the abolition of forced marriage.
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas various international charters and laws prohibit the marriage of minors; whereas early and forced marriage should be regarded as gender-related violence and therefore has a very negative impact on the personal development of the individuals concerned and on the children resulting from the marriage;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas early marriages and forced marriages pose a serious threat to the physical and mental health of women and girls, and in particular their sexual and reproductive health, by significantly increasing the risk of early, frequent and unwanted pregnancies, maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity, obstetric fistula and sexually transmitted infections;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas education is one of the most effective ways of preventing early and forced marriages, of putting an end to these practices and of helping married women and girls make choices in full knowledge of the implications for their lives; whereas it is important to promote and safeguard the right of women and girls to education;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas, to date, more than 70some 720 million girls have married before the age of 18, of whom 250 million were married before the age of 15, and whereas 156 million boys have also married before the age of 18; whereas early and forced marriages are more frequent in poor, under-developed regions; whereas the number of early and forced marriages is increasing as the global population grows, according to a recent UNICEF report which estimates that in 2050 around 1.2 billion girls will have married before the age of 18;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Condemns forced marriage, early marriage and the constraints – in whatever form – imposed on teenage girls and girl children in Europe and the rest of the world, since practices of this kind constitute a serious violation of human rights and, if the victim is under 18, abuse of a minor;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Points out that Article 37 of the Council of Europe’s 2011 Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) stipulates that the State Parties must criminalise ‘the intentional conduct of forcing an adult or a child to enter into a marriage’; deplores the fact, therefore, that only 12 EU Member States have criminalised forced marriage; 2 a __________________ 2a Psaila et al. Forced marriage from a gender perspective. Directorate General for Internal Policies. European Parliament. 2016. http://www.europarl. europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/55 6926/IPOL_STU%282016%29556926_E N.pdf
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas forced marriage at an early age deprives children of their childhood;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas in many countries where child marriages occur, polygamy, crimes of honour and female genital mutilation also form of part of the countries’ cultural and ancestral traditions and whereas these phenomena seriously violate human rights and severely impact the personal development of the individuals concerned;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Emphasises the need to promote and safeguard the fundamental rights of all women and girls, in particular the right to express their sexuality and to take decisions relating to their sexuality freely and responsibly, in particular as regards their sexual and reproductive health, without facing constraints, discrimination or violence;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas early and forced marriages have lifelong consequences for the victims and very often deprive the persons concerned of the possibility to continue their studies; whereas education is an effective way of preventing early and forced marriage, allowing girlsbecause equal access to education and proper training contributes to empowerment and promotes freedom of choice and the right of self-determination of girls and women, enabling them to free themselves from any form of control adversely affecting their rights;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on those Member States which have not yet done so to criminalise forced and early marriages;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas child-mothers are not yet physically and mentally mature and are exposed to considerable health risks and difficulties during pregnancy and childbirth, particularly owing to highly inadequate or non-existent medical support, frequently resulting in maternal mortality; whereas there is and because, as a result of their social isolation, they have less access to high- quality health centres, which leads to high rates of maternal and neonatal mortality and an increased risk of contracting viral infections such as HIV;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to draw up an action plan to help combat child, early, and forced marriage in the context of the EU’s relations with non-member countries, not least by making use of the ‘human rights clause’; calls, further, on the Member States to encourage efforts to combat early and forced marriages in their relations with third countries;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to take integrated, comprehensive and coordinated measures to prevent and combat all forms of violence against women and girls, including child, early, and forced marriage, and, in particular by enhancing child protection mechanisms and facilitating access to justice and exchanging good practices, to offer girls, adolescent girls and women who are already married forms of protection such as safe reception centres;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Welcomes the introduction, as part of the Schengen Information System, of a new alert which can be used to protect children at risk of forced marriage;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Calls on legislators, both in the EU and in third countries, to set the minimum age for marriage at 18 years and to provide themselves with the administrative, legal and financial means to be able to comply with this requirement; also considers that any infringement of this legislation should be addressed in a proportionate and effective manner;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Believes it is important to tackle the multiple causes of early and forced marriage, including age-old traditions having little regard for gender equality and women’s affairs, the lack of educational opportunities, the lack of appropriate legislation and, very often, the endemic poverty in the communities concerned; considers that this approach also particularly applies to those countries where child marriage is accompanied by other harmful traditional traditions, such as female genital mutilation, and therefore that it is necessary to insist without delay on the application of clear legislation, strict measures and changing attitudes which ought to put a stop to harmful traditions that affect, and cause suffering to, millions of girls;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that the lack of respect for girls and women in general and stubborn adherence to cultural and social traditions which perpetuate discrimination against girls and women is one of the biggest obstacles to combating early and forced marriage;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Points out that in order to comprehensively tackle early and forced marriage, the European Union, as a major actor in global development, must play a leading role, in cooperation with regional organisations and local communities, in eliminating legislation, social standards and cultural traditions which act as a brake on the rights and freedoms of young girls and women;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls, therefore, on all Member States to be consistent and to include a ban on early and forced marriage in their legislation and to enforce the minimum age for marriage set by legislation;