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The UN General Assembly adopted resolution A/80/L.99 by consensus in New York on 4 September 2026, declaring 27 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage.
Sierra Leone led the resolution, championed by its First Lady Dr Fatima Maada Bio; India was among more than 66 co-sponsors.
The date matches the launch of India's national Child Marriage Free India campaign on 27 November 2024.
India's Women and Child Development Minister Annpurna Devi welcomed the adoption; Bhuwan Ribhu of Just Rights for Children attended as a civil society representative.
NFHS-6 (2023-24) puts child marriage among women aged 20-24 at 20.1%, down from 23.3% in NFHS-5 (2019-21).
India's principal law on child marriage. It replaced the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, defines a child as a male under 21 and a female under 18, provides for Child Marriage Prohibition Officers, and makes a child marriage voidable at the option of the party who was a child.
The colonial-era statute that first set minimum marriage ages in India and was repealed by the 2006 Act.
Eliminate child marriage in India through awareness, community pledges, enforcement and convergence between departments.
Key: Launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development on 27 November 2024 - the very date the UN General Assembly has now adopted as the international observance.
GS Paper 2 > Social Justice - issues relating to women and children; important international institutions
General Awareness > Important Days and United Nations
General Awareness > International Days and Government Schemes
With reference to the United Nations General Assembly, consider the following statements: 1. The UN General Assembly can grant observer status to the non-member States. 2. Inter-governmental organisations can seek observer status in the UN General Assembly. 3. Permanent Observers in the UN General Assembly can maintain missions at the UN headquarters. Which of the statements given above are correct?
Answer: 1, 2 and 3
A marriage in which at least one spouse is below 18 years of age.
Adoption of a UN resolution without a recorded vote because no member state formally objects.
National Family Health Survey, India's large-scale household survey on health and family welfare; NFHS-6 covered 2023-24.
The Child Marriage Free India campaign launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development on 27 November 2024.