A national conference aimed at launching a campaign to end child marriage in Eritrea was held at Hotel Asmara Palace in June 2016. The national launch was coordinated by the Ministry of Health, and a number of line ministries and other organizations like the Ministry of Labor and Human Welfare, Ministry of Education, the national Union of Eritrean Women, and the National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students participated actively. The launch was organized in partnership with the African Union Commission, WHO, UNFPA and UNICEF.

Hon. Minister of Health, Mrs. Amina Nurhussein during the opening highlighted that since independence the government of Eritrea has been tirelessly working to bring an end to child marriage.  She pointed out the fact that encouraging outcome has been registered thus far.  The Hon. Minister also said that more needs to be done to achieve the set goal.

In his statement, the commissioner of social affairs, African Union Commission, Dr Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko said that the African Commission views child marriage as a crosscutting issue and recognizes that it is a development, cultural, health, political and religious issue, among others. In this regard, the commission in collaboration with partners developed the AU campaign to end child marriages.  They  work to build on already existing activities of Member  States and partners in ending child marriage.

Following, the President of the National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW), Her Excellency Ms. Tekea Tesfamichael, emphasized that Women’s right and empowerment started in Eritrea as early as 1970’s during the armed struggle for independence. Though it is difficult to dismantle the deeply rooted culture and patriarchal setting of the Eritrean society overnight, significant achievements have been recorded in reducing the incidents of harmful practices like early marriage; she affirmed that the NUEW will continue to strongly support the implementation of the campaign to stop child marriage as it is a violation of the rights of the girl child.

Mr Syum Tekle, a judge at the Eritrean High Court, made a presentation on Legal Aspects of Child Marriage in Eritrea in which he explained the different laws enacted in the protection of children.

The conference was attended by senior government officials, PFDJ officials, the AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, UN Agencies representatives and staff, the National Union of Eritrean Women, National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students, army commanders, members of the diplomatic corps, and religious leaders. Representatives from the above mentioned organizations were among the key note speakers on the occasion.

The government and people of Eritrea agreed to make efforts  on issues related to women’s rights. With the continuous campaign and efforts devoted in raising awareness, added to the necessary  amendments on laws to ensure empowerment of women, both these would go along way in eliminating this problem of child marriages.

In the event, eye opening research papers and statistics documents were presented. In addition, during the event two young Eritrean women shared their experiences with the marriage at their early age. Educating and entertaining cultural shows, songs, poems and dramas at the event rallied the audience around this common cause. A video titled “The Voice of Children” was also viewed at the conference.

Furthermore, to launch the campaign, about 200 high school students marched from Bahti Meskerem to Asmara Palace while messages that condemn child marriage were featured. Eritrea is the 12th African Country that launched the AU Campaign to End Child Marriage.

Below:

01. Hon. Minister of Health Mrs. Amina Nurhussien making remarks

02. Participants of the launching