National Committee for limiting the marriage of those under the age of 18 years
07-11-2020
Amman, July 11 (Petra) - The National Council for Family Affairs has restructured the National Committee for limiting the marriage of individuals under the age of 18 in Jordan, as part of the National Action Plan for Implementing the Recommendations of the “Child Marriage in Jordan” Study funded by the United Nations Population Fund.
According to a statement issued by the NCFA, the national plan of action developed in 2016 based on the recommendation of the National Team for Family Protection against Violence aims to review national policies, regulations and legislation, enhance family awareness and promote partnerships among stakeholders with a view to limit the marriage for those under the age of 18 years and consequently minimize its impact on Jordanian families. Moreover, its seeks to promote partnership among CSOs, international organizations and government agencies to enhance coordination and exchange of information about this type of marriage and follow-up on the implementation of decisions pertaining to the policies, strategies, frameworks and legislation by the relevant institutions working in this field .
The committee will provide technical advice to the national projects pertaining to limiting marriage for those under the age of 18 through its member institutions and other stakeholders involved in the implementation of the plan. It will also provide them with the necessary best practices and evidence-based information including policies, programs and plans related to the child marriage issue, and will review the follow-up and evaluation reports that will be prepared in cooperation with liaison officers from these institutions.
In its first meeting at NCFA offices, the committee discussed the instructions issued by the Supreme Judge Department in 2017 for granting marriage permission for those who completed fifteen calendar years and did not complete eighteen, which contributed according to statistics to reducing marriages for those under 18 years of age. The committee stressed the need to study and document the economic impact of this marriage and the importance of targeting parents, children, and young males and females with awareness-raising programs of its negative consequences.
It is to be noted that the committee includes in its membership the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Development, the Supreme Judge Department, the Higher Population Council, the National Commission for Women, the Jordan River Foundation, the Family Health Care Institute, the Women’s Union, the Arab Renaissance Foundation for Democracy and Development, Save the Child Association, and the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and UNICEF.
