Child Marriage in International Law: The Role of the UNFPA-UNICEF Programme in Eliminating Child Marriage

The thesis addresses the issue of child marriage in the context of international law, with an emphasis on the impact of the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage (GPECM) on the adoption of legal reforms in selected target countries. The thesis is based on case studies of three countries – Bangladesh, Burkina Faso and Niger – and examines the legislative changes adopted between 2016 and 2023. The aim is to assess how the programme has influenced the legal regulation of child marriage and what tools were used by the organizations to achieve it. The thesis first defines the phenomenon of child marriage and introduces the relevant international legal framework, including key human rights and regional conventions. It then describes the tools used by international organizations, particularly UNICEF and UNFPA, to enforce legislative change. Based on a qualitative analysis of legislation, program documents, and supplementary literature, the thesis assesses the impact of GPECM on the legal adjustments of the minimum age for marriage, legal exceptions, the criminalization of child marriage, and the establishment of penalties associated with this practice. The thesis concludes that while the program has contributed to certain progress, particularly in the area of stricter penalties, its overall effectiveness is often limited by existing legal exceptions, persistent sociocultural norms, and weak enforcement of adopted measures. The results of this work thus contribute to a deeper understanding of the potential for international cooperation in elimination of the practice of child marriage through legal reforms.