#aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  ,h4   
,r4 #badj  ,,an ,,act  ,to prevent child
 marriage in refugee settlements        
administered by the ,united ,nations1   
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,preventing ,child ,marriage in         
,displaced ,populations ,act4  #b4      
,findings ,congress finds the following3
  7#a7 ,according to ,,unicef1 #ab      
million girls marry before the age of   
#ah every year4  7#b7 ,early marriage   
denies children1 especially girls1 their
 right to make vital decisions about    
their well-being1 including relating to 
their health1 family1 and career4 ,child
 brides are less likely to finish their 
education1 and are at higher risk for   
abuse1 contracting ,,hiv1 and dying     
while pregnant or giving birth4  7#c7   
,child marriage also imposes substantial
 economic costs to developing countries1
 impeding development and prosperity    
gains4  7#d7 ,displaced populations are 
particularly vulnerable to child        

marriage1 in communities where poverty1 
instability1 and displacement put       
pressure on families to marry children1 
particularly young girls1 off at a young
 age4  7#e7 ,one ,united ,nations 7,,un7
 study found that child marriage rates  
were #d times higher among displaced    
,syrian refugees than among ,syrians    
before the crisis4 ,this indicates that 
displacement1 instability1 and poverty  
are driving child marriages4  7#f7      
,united ,nations agencies1 including    
,,unicef and ,,unhcr1 have acknowledged 
the dangers of child marriage and taken 
steps to address its risk in the        
populations they serve4  7#g7 ,the ,,un 
,joint ,program on ,child ,marriage     
supports this work by building the      
resilience of populations to indirectly 
prevent child marriage and by generating
 new data and evidence on the prevalence
 of child marriage in humanitarian and  
fragile settings4 ,for example1 in      
,uganda1 the ,,un ,joint ,program on    
,child ,marriage helped #bg1jjj         

adolescent girls strengthen critical    
skills through school clubs and ,go     
,back to ,school campaigns1 as well as  
life-skills and financial literacy      
training4  7#h7 ,after the ,,un ,joint  
,program on ,child ,marriage identified 
,yemen as one of its focus countries1   
#fe1jjj people1 of whom #de1jjj are     
adolescents1 were reached with awareness
 raising activities on the harms of     
child marriage in #bjah alone4 ,as a    
result1 local council representatives1  
elders1 and community leaders from six  
districts signed a pledge to support    
advocacy efforts to end child marriage4 
#c4 ,preventing child marriage in       
displaced populations  7a7 ,in general  
,the ,president shall direct the ,united
 ,states ,permanent ,representative to  
the ,united ,nations to use the voice1  
vote1 and influence of the ,united      
,states at the ,united ,nations to call 
for an adoption of an agreed-upon       
definition of child marriage across     
,united ,nations agencies4  7b7         

,strategy ,the ,president shall direct  
the ,united ,states ,permanent          
,representative to the ,united ,nations 
to use the voice1 vote1 and influence of
 the ,united ,states at the ,united     
,nations to call for the development of 
a comprehensive strategy to address     
child marriage in refugee settlements   
administered by the ,united ,nations4   
,such strategy should include the       
following3  7#a7 ,a mandate to regularly
 collect and report data related to the 
number of known or suspected child      
marriages taking place inside each such 
settlement4  7#b7 ,protocols for ,united
 ,nations personnel regarding prevention
 and monitoring of child marriages      
inside each such settlement4  7#c7 ,a   
description of ,united ,nations programs
 administered at such settlements that  
include-- 7,a7 physical1 mental1 and    
emotional rehabilitation and support to 
children who have extricated themselves 
from child marriage2 and  7,b7          
alternatives to child marriage1 such as 

education initiatives4  7#d7 ,protocols 
regarding how ,united ,nations personnel
 should--  7,a7 report adults           
participating in illegal child marriages
 in each such settlement2 and  7,b7     
monitor the prosecution of such adults  
by the authorities of the country in    
which the settlement at issue is        
located4  7c7 ,research ,the ,president 
shall direct the ,united ,states        
,permanent ,representative to the       
,united ,nations to use the voice1 vote1
 and influence of the ,united ,states at
 the ,united ,nations to advocate for   
the ,united ,nations and its appropriate
 agencies to include1 as appropriate1 in
 all of its research into child marriage
 the relationship between child marriage
 and violence against girls1 including  
young children and infants4  7d7        
,definitions ,in this section3  7#a7    
,child marriage ,the term child marriage
 means a formal marriage or informal    
union involving at least one person     
younger than age #ah4  7#b7 ,illegal    

child marriage ,the term illegal child  
marriage means a child marriage that is 
illegal under the laws of the country in
 which the child marriage occurs4       
,passed the ,house of ,representatives  
,june #aj1 #bjai4;,clerk4