BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has once again urged Brunei to raise the minimum age of marriage to 18, in light of the Malaysian government saying it will take steps to eradicate child marriage. Marianne Clark-Hattingh, UNICEF’s special representative to Brunei, said the UN Committee on the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) had already made this recommendation to the Brunei government before. “This is an issue in this country and others in ASEAN — it’s a violation of the child’s rights and not in their best interests,” she told media on the sidelines of the ASEAN Children’s Forum being held in Brunei from August 6 to 8. Clark-Hattingh stressed that marriage was not a solution to social issues such as teen pregnancy, and that access to “age-appropriate information” on reproductive health could prevent girls becoming pregnant when they are not ready to be mothers. “Given poverty and teen pregnancy, we need to address the root causes and not see marriage as the solution. It really is an infringement of the child’s rights, it stops the opportunity to go to school and it isolates the child. And if you look at the statistics, … Continue reading Brunei urged to raise minimum age of marriage ‘Marriage is not a solution to poverty or teen pregnancy’, says UNICEF rep