10th Meeting of the National Coalition to End Child Marriage

Your excellencies: Deputy Prime Minister Gojkovic, Minister Zigmanov, Minister Popovic, dear CSO partners, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me start by expressing my appreciation of the strong political leadership that we see around the table today. The National Coalition to End Child Marriage has already provided a lot of evidence about how important it is for all stakeholders to join efforts and I’m sure that we can continue the good practice and with the commitment of the ministers present today we’ll be able to make strong steps over the next months.

Nowadays, globally, one in five girls is married before her 18th birthday. This harmful practice is one of the fundamental obstacles to both sustainable development and the achievement of gender equality worldwide.

Serbia is no exception. Today, 22% of young women from the poorest households and 56% from Roma settlements are married before their 18th birthday. What makes Serbia different are efforts to deal with such complex child-rights violations.

It is promising that today, four years after the establishment of the Coalition to End Child Marriage, we see a continuously growing network of partners and supporters committed to ending child marriages and protecting the rights of every girl to have a childhood.

Evidence, and recent joint prevention efforts, clearly show that we must target multiple underlying drivers of child marriage – especially social exclusion and poverty.

Reducing poverty for girls means that every girl must have options – for education, being healthy, being protected from violence and being empowered to transition to productive adulthood. Reducing poverty will have a positive impact on both economic growth and the future workforce.

In 2021, absolute child poverty in Serbia was 10.6% and it is expected to increase. UNICEF’s poverty projections on the impact of the war in Ukraine show that even in the most modest scenario, it is expected to reach 13.8%. This means an additional almost 28,000 children living below the absolute poverty line. The most affected are children living in large families, those in Roma settlements and rural households.

Children and families at risk of exclusion and poverty need both efficient social services and financial assistance. And those measures need to be targeted, child-focused, non-discriminatory, and comprehensive – so that every child and young person is supported to develop. And so that child-marriage is no longer an option for any child in Serbia!  

Serbia has very good practices, but it should continue investing in child and protection services, so that they are available across the country for all children. A good option today is the Child Guarantee – an EU tool that Serbia can access. It is designed for EU member states, but two pre-accession countries have already joined it. The Child Guarantee aims to combat child exclusion and poverty by creating free or affordable quality services for all children in the areas of Early childhood education and care; Education (including school-based activities); Health care; Nutrition; and Housing.

I’m confident that the experience, knowledge, and recommendations that the National Coalition has generated so far, are important resources to continue combating child marriage. And we should work even more to use this platform and encourage a comprehensive and efficient response. UNICEF remains committed to support the Government and all stakeholders in providing equal opportunities for every girl and boy to reach their full potentials – for the wellbeing of every child today and tomorrow!  Hvala!