Bhuwan Ribhu Urges UN to Declare ‘World Day for Elimination of Child Marriage’

Sounding a global alarm over the persistence of child marriage, India’s noted child rights activist and internationally acclaimed lawyer Bhuwan Ribhu has called on the United Nations to declare a dedicated ‘World Day for the Elimination of Child Marriage’. Speaking at an event alongside the 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, he said that while India has made significant progress in recent years with child marriages declining substantially, even today a child marriage takes place somewhere in the world every three seconds.

Emphasising the need for a dedicated global day to strengthen accountability and enforcement of laws against child marriage which is no less than child rape, Bhuwan Ribhu, Founder, Just Rights for Children, said, “India has shown that ending child marriage is possible. Through a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach focused on prevention, protection, prosecution, and the participation of children, communities, and faith leaders our country is advancing in mission mode to end child marriage by 2030. In less than three years, the prevalence has fallen from 23% to below 15%. Child marriage is nothing less than impending rape and sexual abuse of a child, often hidden behind culture or tradition. The United Nations must establish a World Day for the Elimination of Child Marriage to showcase global commitment, strengthen accountability, and mobilize governments and societies worldwide to end this crime.” Sierra Leone’s First Lady H.E. Dr. Fatima Maada Bio and Shradha Shrestha, Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens, Government of Nepal along with other global dignitaries unanimously supported the demand for a dedicated day for the elimination of child marriage.

Bhuwan Ribhu, who is the first Indian lawyer to be conferred with the ‘Medal of Honour’ by the World Jurist Association (WJA) at the World Law Congress 2025, was speaking online at an event convened by Just Rights for Children in partnership with the office of Sierra Leone’s First Lady and President of the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD), H.E. Dr. Fatima Maada Bio. Other speakers at the event included HE Mr. Pio Smith, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive, Director - Programme, UNFPA; HE Ambassador Isabelle Rome, Ambassador At Large for Human Rights, Government of France; HE Ambassador Thomas Zahneisen, Deputy Permanent Representative of Germany; Dr. Angela Martins, (on behalf of H.E. Ambassador Amma Twum-Amoah, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, The African Union); Ligia Jeannette Pérez Peña, Executive President of the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI), Government of Dominican Republic; Ana Rold, Founder and CEO of The Diplomatic Courier; Jaha Dukureh, Regional UN Women Ambassador and Founder, Regenerative Hubs; Divya Srinivasan, Director of Ending Gender-Based Violence, Equality Now; and Rachna Tyagi, General Counsel, Just Rights for Children.

Speaking during the event, participants, including ministers, senior UN officials, jurists, civil society leaders, and survivor advocates, unanimously asked the member states to establish an International Day to End Child Marriage, arguing it would elevate the issue as a global enforcement and accountability priority.

Advocates at the event said strict legal frameworks against child marriage already exist in many countries but are unevenly enforced, allowing the practice to persist.

Just Rights for Children is country’s largest network of NGOs working with over 250 partners in 451 districts for child protection and child rights and aims to end child marriage by 2030. The network has, in coordination with government agencies, local administrations, law enforcement agencies and frontline workers, has stopped almost 500,000 child marriages in the last three years in India.