I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2140 

To prevent child marriage in United Nations-administered refugee settlements, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 8, 2019 

Mrs. WAGNER (for herself and Mr. MCCAUL) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To prevent child marriage in United Nations-administered 

refugee settlements, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preventing Child Mar5 riage Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PREVENTING CHILD MARRIAGE IN UNITED NA7 TIONS-ADMINISTERED REFUGEE SETTLE8 MENTS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall direct the 

10 United States Permanent Representative to the United 


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1 Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United 

2 States at the United Nations to call for an adoption by 

3 the United Nations of a definition of ‘‘child marriage’’ and 

4 the development of a comprehensive strategy to address 

5 child marriage in refugee settlements administered by the 

6 United Nations. Such strategy should include the fol7 lowing: 

8 (1) A mandate to regularly collect and report 

9 data related to the number of known or suspected 

10 child marriages taking place inside each such settle11 ment. 

12 (2) Protocols for United Nations personnel re13 garding prevention and monitoring of child mar14 riages inside each such settlement. 

15 (3) A description of programs administered at 

16 such settlements that provide— 

17 (A) physical, mental, and emotional reha18 bilitation and support to children who have ex19 tricated themselves from child marriage; and 

20 (B) alternatives to child marriage, such as 

21 education initiatives. 

22 (4) Protocols regarding how United Nations 

23 personnel should— 

24 (A) report adults participating in illegal 

25 child marriages in each such settlement; and 


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1 (B) monitor the prosecution of such adults 

2 by the authorities of the country in which the 

3 settlement at issue is located. 

4 (b) RESEARCH.—The President shall direct the 

5 United States Permanent Representative to the United 

6 Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United 

7 States at the United Nations to advocate for the United 

8 Nations and its appropriate agencies to include in all of 

9 its research into child marriage the relationship between 

10 child marriage and violence against girls, including young 

11 children and infants. 

12 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) CHILD MARRIAGE.—The term ‘‘child mar14 riage’’ means a formal marriage or informal union 

15 involving at least one person younger than age 18. 

16 (2) ILLEGAL CHILD MARRIAGE.—The term ‘‘il17 legal child marriage’’ means a formal marriage or 

18 informal union involving at least one person younger 

19 than age 18 that is illegal under the laws of the 

20 country in which the child marriage occurs. 

Æ 


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