[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 987 Reported in Senate (RS)]

                                                       Calendar No. 637
111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                 S. 987

                          [Report No. 111-344]

  To protect girls in developing countries through the prevention of 
                child marriage, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 6, 2009

Mr. Durbin (for himself, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Brown of Ohio, 
  Mrs. Murray, Ms. Collins, Mr. Burris, Mr. Harkin, Ms. Mikulski, Ms. 
    Landrieu, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. 
  Lieberman, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Lincoln, Mrs. 
   Feinstein, Mr. Burr, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Begich, Mrs. 
    Gillibrand, Mr. Casey, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. 
  Brownback, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. 
    Specter, Mrs. Hagan, Mr. Tester, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Menendez, Mr. 
    Merkley, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Feingold, and Mr. Brown of 
Massachusetts) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

             October 26 (legislative day, October 1), 2010

 Reported under authority of the order of the Senate of September 29, 
                 2010, by Mr. Kerry, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To protect girls in developing countries through the prevention of 
                child marriage, and for other purposes.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``International Protecting 
Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2009''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Congress makes the following findings:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Child marriage, also known as ``forced 
        marriage'' or ``early marriage'', is a harmful traditional 
        practice that deprives girls of their dignity and human 
        rights.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Child marriage as a traditional practice, as 
        well as through coercion or force, is a violation of article 16 
        of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, 
        ``Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full 
        consent of intending spouses.''.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) According to the United Nations Children's 
        Fund (UNICEF), an estimated 60,000,000 girls in developing 
        countries now ages 20-24 were married under the age of 18, and 
        if present trends continue more than 100,000,000 more girls in 
        developing countries will be married as children over the next 
        decade, according to the Population Council.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Child marriage ``treats young girls as 
        property'' and ``poses grave risks not only to women's basic 
        rights but also their health, economic independence, education, 
        and status in society'', according to the Department of State 
        in 2005.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) In 2005, the Department of State conducted a 
        world-wide survey and found child marriage to be a concern in 
        64 out of 182 countries surveyed, with child marriage most 
        common in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South Asia.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) In Ethiopia's Amhara region, about 
        </DELETED>\<DELETED>1/2</DELETED>\ <DELETED>of all girls are 
        married by age 14, with 95 percent not knowing their husbands 
        before marriage, 85 percent unaware they were to be married, 
        and 70 percent reporting their first sexual initiation within 
        marriage taking place before their first menstrual period, 
        according to a 2004 Population Council survey.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) In some areas of northern Nigeria, 45 percent 
        of girls are married by age 15 and 73 percent by age 18, with 
        age gaps between girls and the husbands averaging between 12 
        and 18 years.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) Between </DELETED>\<DELETED>1/2</DELETED>\ 
        <DELETED>and </DELETED>\<DELETED>3/4</DELETED>\ <DELETED>of all 
        girls are married before the age of 18 in Niger, Chad, Mali, 
        Bangladesh, Guinea, the Central African Republic, Mozambique, 
        Burkina Faso, and Nepal, according to Demographic Health Survey 
        data.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) Factors perpetuating child marriage include 
        poverty, a lack of educational or employment opportunities for 
        girls, parental concerns to ensure sexual relations within 
        marriage, the dowry system, and the perceived lack of value of 
        girls.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) Child marriage has negative effects on the 
        health of girls, including significantly increased risk of 
        maternal death and morbidity, infant mortality and morbidity, 
        obstetric fistula, and sexually transmitted diseases, including 
        HIV/AIDS.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (11) According to the United States Agency for 
        International Development (USAID), increasing the age at first 
        birth for a woman will increase her chances of survival. 
        Currently, pregnancy and childbirth complications are the 
        leading cause of death for women 15 to 19 years old in 
        developing countries.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (12) In developing countries, girls 15 years of 
        age are 5 times more likely to die in childbirth than women in 
        their 20s.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (13) Child marriage can result in bonded labor or 
        enslavement, commercial sexual exploitation, and violence 
        against the victims, according to UNICEF.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (14) Out-of-school or unschooled girls are at 
        greater risk of child marriage while girls in school face 
        pressure to withdraw from school when secondary school requires 
        monetary costs, travel, or other social costs, including lack 
        of lavatories and supplies for menstruating girls and increased 
        risk of sexual violence.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (15) In Mozambique 60 percent of girls with no 
        education are married by age 18, compared to 10 percent of 
        girls with secondary schooling and less than 1 percent of girls 
        with higher education.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (16) According to UNICEF, in 2005 it was estimated 
        that ``about half of girls in Sub-Saharan Africa who drop out 
        of primary school do so because of poor water and sanitation 
        facilities''.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (17) UNICEF reports that investments in improving 
        school sanitation resulted in a 17 percent increase in school 
        enrollment for girls in Guinea and an 11 percent increase for 
        girls in Bangladesh.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (18) Investments in girls' schooling, creating 
        safe community spaces for girls, and programs for skills 
        building for out-of-school girls are all effective and 
        demonstrated strategies for preventing child marriage and 
        creating a pathway to empower girls by addressing conditions of 
        poverty, low status, and norms that contribute to child 
        marriage.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (19) Most countries with high rates of child 
        marriage have a legally established minimum age of marriage, 
        yet child marriage persists due to strong traditional norms and 
        the failure to enforce existing laws.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (20) In Afghanistan, where the legal age of 
        marriage for girls is 16 years, 57 percent of marriages involve 
        girls below the age of 16, including girls younger than 10 
        years, according to the United Nations Children's Fund 
        (UNICEF).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (21) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has stated 
        that ``child marriage is a clear and unacceptable violation of 
        human rights, and that the Department of State denounces all 
        cases of child marriage as child abuse''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. CHILD MARRIAGE DEFINED.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    In this Act, the term ``child marriage'' means the 
marriage of a girl or boy, not yet the minimum age for marriage 
stipulated in law in the country in which the girl or boy is a 
resident.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    It is the sense of Congress that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) child marriage is a violation of human rights, 
        and the prevention and elimination of child marriage should be 
        a foreign policy goal of the United States;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the practice of child marriage undermines 
        United States investments in foreign assistance to promote 
        education and skills building for girls, reduce maternal and 
        child mortality, reduce maternal illness, halt the transmission 
        of HIV/AIDS, prevent gender-based violence, and reduce poverty; 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) expanding educational opportunities for girls, 
        economic opportunities for women, and reducing maternal and 
        child mortality are critical to achieving the Millennium 
        Development Goals and the global health and development 
        objectives of the United States, including efforts to prevent 
        HIV/AIDS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE TO PREVENT THE INCIDENCE OF CHILDHOOD 
              MARRIAGE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Assistance Authorized.--The President is authorized to 
provide assistance, including through multilateral, nongovernmental, 
and faith-based organizations, to prevent the incidence of child 
marriage in developing countries and to promote the educational, 
health, economic, social, and legal empowerment of girls and women as 
part of the strategy established pursuant to section 6 to prevent child 
marriage in developing countries.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Priority.--In providing assistance authorized under 
subsection (a), the President shall give priority to--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) areas or regions in developing countries in 
        which 15 percent of girls under the age of 15 are married or 40 
        percent of girls under the age of 18 are married; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) activities to--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) expand and replicate existing 
                community-based programs that are successful in 
                preventing the incidence of child marriage;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) establish pilot projects to prevent 
                child marriage; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) share evaluations of successful 
                programs, program designs, experiences, and 
                lessons.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Coordination.--Assistance authorized under subsection 
(a) shall be integrated with existing United States programs for 
advancing appropriate age and grade-level basic and secondary education 
through adolescence, ensure school enrollment and completion for girls, 
health, income generation, agriculture development, legal rights, and 
democracy building and human rights, including--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) support for community-based activities that 
        encourage community members to address beliefs or practices 
        that promote child marriage and to educate parents, community 
        leaders, religious leaders, and adolescents of the health risks 
        associated with child marriage and the benefits for 
        adolescents, especially girls, of access to education, health 
        care, livelihood skills, microfinance, and savings 
        programs;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) enrolling girls in primary and secondary 
        school at the appropriate age and keeping them in age-
        appropriate grade levels through adolescence;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) reducing education fees, and enhancing safe 
        and supportive conditions in primary and secondary schools to 
        meet the needs of girls, including--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) access to water and suitable hygiene 
                facilities, including separate lavatories and latrines 
                for girls;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) assignment of female 
                teachers;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) safe routes to and from school; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) eliminating sexual harassment and 
                other forms of violence and coercion;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) ensuring access to health care services and 
        proper nutrition for adolescent girls, which is essential to 
        both their school performance and their economic 
        productivity;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) increasing training for adolescent girls and 
        their parents in financial literacy and access to economic 
        opportunities, including livelihood skills, savings, 
        microfinance, and small-enterprise development;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) supporting education, including through 
        community and faith-based organizations and youth programs, 
        that helps remove gender stereotypes and the bias against girls 
        used to justify child marriage, especially efforts targeted at 
        men and boys, promotes zero tolerance for violence, and 
        promotes gender equality, which in turn help to increase the 
        perceived value of girls;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) creating peer support and female mentoring 
        networks and safe social spaces specifically for girls; 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) supporting local advocacy work to provide 
        legal literacy programs at the community level and ensure that 
        governments and law enforcement officials are meeting their 
        obligations to prevent child and forced marriage.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 6. STRATEGY TO PREVENT CHILD MARRIAGE IN DEVELOPING 
              COUNTRIES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Strategy Required.--The President, acting through the 
Secretary of State, shall establish a multi-year strategy to prevent 
child marriage in developing countries and promote the empowerment of 
girls at risk of child marriage in developing countries, including by 
addressing the unique needs, vulnerabilities, and potential of girls 
under age 18 in developing countries.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Consultation.--In establishing the strategy required 
by subsection (a), the President shall consult with Congress, relevant 
Federal departments and agencies, multilateral organizations, and 
representatives of civil society.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Elements.--The strategy required by subsection (a) 
shall--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) focus on areas in developing countries with 
        high prevalence of child marriage; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) encompass diplomatic initiatives between the 
        United States and governments of developing countries, with 
        attention to human rights, legal reforms and the rule of law, 
        and programmatic initiatives in the areas of education, health, 
        income generation, changing social norms, human rights, and 
        democracy building.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to Congress a report 
that includes--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the strategy required by subsection 
        (a);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) an assessment, including data disaggregated by 
        age and gender to the extent possible, of current United 
        States-funded efforts to specifically assist girls in 
        developing countries; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) examples of best practices or programs to 
        prevent child marriage in developing countries that could be 
        replicated.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 7. RESEARCH AND DATA COLLECTION.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The Secretary of State shall work through the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development 
and any other relevant agencies of the Department of State, and in 
conjunction with relevant executive branch agencies as part of their 
ongoing research and data collection activities, to--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) collect and make available data on the 
        incidence of child marriage in countries that receive foreign 
        or development assistance from the United States where the 
        practice of child marriage is prevalent; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) collect and make available data on the impact 
        of the incidence of child marriage and the age at marriage on 
        progress in meeting key development goals.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 8. DEPARTMENT OF STATE'S COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 
              PRACTICES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in section 116 (22 U.S.C. 2151n), by adding at 
        the end the following new subsection:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(g) The report required by subsection (d) shall include 
for each country in which child marriage is prevalent at rates at or 
above 40 percent in at least one subnational region, a description of 
the status of the practice of child marriage in such country. In this 
subsection, the term `child marriage' means the marriage of a girl or 
boy, not yet the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law in the 
country in which such girl or boy is a resident.''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304), by adding at 
        the end the following new subsection:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(i) The report required by subsection (b) shall include 
for each country in which child marriage is prevalent at rates at or 
above 40 percent in at least one subnational region, a description of 
the status of the practice of child marriage in such country. In this 
subsection, the term `child marriage' means the marriage of a girl or 
boy, not yet the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law in the 
country in which such girl or boy is a resident.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    To carry out this Act and the amendments made by this Act, 
there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary 
for fiscal years 2010 through 2014.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``International Protecting Girls by 
Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Child marriage, also known as ``forced marriage'' or 
        ``early marriage'', is a harmful traditional practice that 
        deprives girls of their dignity and human rights.
            (2) Child marriage as a traditional practice, as well as 
        through coercion or force, is a violation of article 16 of the 
        Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states, ``Marriage 
        shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of 
        intending spouses''.
            (3) According to the United Nations Children's Fund 
        (UNICEF), an estimated 60,000,000 girls in developing countries 
        now ages 20 through 24 were married under the age of 18, and if 
        present trends continue more than 100,000,000 more girls in 
        developing countries will be married as children over the next 
        decade, according to the Population Council.
            (4) Between \1/2\ and \3/4\ of all girls are married before 
        the age of 18 in Niger, Chad, Mali, Bangladesh, Guinea, the 
        Central African Republic, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, and Nepal, 
        according to Demographic Health Survey data.
            (5) Factors perpetuating child marriage include poverty, a 
        lack of educational or employment opportunities for girls, 
        parental concerns to ensure sexual relations within marriage, 
        the dowry system, and the perceived lack of value of girls.
            (6) Child marriage has negative effects on the health of 
        girls, including significantly increased risk of maternal death 
        and morbidity, infant mortality and morbidity, obstetric 
        fistula, and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
            (7) According to the United States Agency for International 
        Development (USAID), increasing the age at first birth for a 
        woman will increase her chances of survival. Currently, 
        pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading cause of 
        death for women 15 to 19 years old in developing countries.
            (8) Most countries with high rates of child marriage have a 
        legally established minimum age of marriage, yet child marriage 
        persists due to strong traditional norms and the failure to 
        enforce existing laws.
            (9) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has stated that 
        ``child marriage is a clear and unacceptable violation of human 
        rights, and that the Department of State denounces all cases of 
        child marriage as child abuse''.
            (10) According to an International Center for Research on 
        Women analysis of Demographic and Health Survey data, areas or 
        regions in developing countries in which 40 percent or more of 
        girls under the age of 18 are married are considered high-
        prevalence areas for child marriage.
            (11) Investments in girls' schooling, creating safe 
        community spaces for girls, and programs for skills building 
        for out-of-school girls are all effective and demonstrated 
        strategies for preventing child marriage and creating a pathway 
        to empower girls by addressing conditions of poverty, low 
        status, and norms that contribute to child marriage.

SEC. 3. CHILD MARRIAGE DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``child marriage'' means the marriage of a 
girl or boy, not yet the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law in 
the country in which the girl or boy is a resident.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) child marriage is a violation of human rights, and the 
        prevention and elimination of child marriage should be a 
        foreign policy goal of the United States;
            (2) the practice of child marriage undermines United States 
        investments in foreign assistance to promote education and 
        skills building for girls, reduce maternal and child mortality, 
        reduce maternal illness, halt the transmission of HIV/AIDS, 
        prevent gender-based violence, and reduce poverty; and
            (3) expanding educational opportunities for girls, economic 
        opportunities for women, and reducing maternal and child 
        mortality are critical to achieving the Millennium Development 
        Goals and the global health and development objectives of the 
        United States, including efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS.

SEC. 5. STRATEGY TO PREVENT CHILD MARRIAGE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

    (a) Assistance Authorized.--
            (1) In general.--The President is authorized to provide 
        assistance, including through multilateral, nongovernmental, 
        and faith-based organizations, to prevent the incidence of 
        child marriage in developing countries through the promotion of 
        educational, health, economic, social, and legal empowerment of 
        girls and women.
            (2) Priority.--In providing assistance authorized under 
        paragraph (1), the President shall give priority to--
                    (A) areas or regions in developing countries in 
                which 40 percent or more of girls under the age of 18 
                are married; and
                    (B) activities to--
                            (i) expand and replicate existing 
                        community-based programs that are successful in 
                        preventing the incidence of child marriage;
                            (ii) establish pilot projects to prevent 
                        child marriage; and
                            (iii) share evaluations of successful 
                        programs, program designs, experiences, and 
                        lessons.
    (b) Strategy Required.--
            (1) In general.--The President shall establish a multi-year 
        strategy to prevent child marriage and promote the empowerment 
        of girls at risk of child marriage in developing countries, and 
        should include addressing the unique needs, vulnerabilities, 
        and potential of girls under age 18 in developing countries.
            (2) Consultation.--In establishing the strategy required by 
        paragraph (1), the President shall consult with relevant 
        stakeholders.
            (3) Elements.--The strategy required by paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    (A) focus on areas in developing countries with 
                high prevalence of child marriage;
                    (B) encompass diplomatic initiatives between the 
                United States and governments of developing countries, 
                with attention to human rights, legal reforms and the 
                rule of law, and programmatic initiatives in the areas 
                of education, health, income generation, changing 
                social norms, human rights, and democracy building; and
                    (C) be implemented not later than one year after 
                the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Report.--Not later than three years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to Congress a report 
that includes--
            (1) a description of the implementation of the strategy 
        required by subsection (b);
            (2) examples of best practices or programs to prevent child 
        marriage in developing countries that could be replicated; and
            (3) an assessment, including data disaggregated by age and 
        sex to the extent possible, of current United States funded 
        efforts to specifically prevent child marriage in developing 
        countries.
    (d) Coordination.--Assistance authorized under subsection (a) shall 
be integrated with existing United States programs for advancing 
appropriate age and grade-level basic and secondary education through 
adolescence, ensure school enrollment and completion for girls, health, 
income generation, agriculture development, legal rights, democracy 
building, and human rights, including--
            (1) support for community-based activities that encourage 
        community members to address beliefs or practices that promote 
        child marriage and to educate parents, community leaders, 
        religious leaders, and adolescents of the health risks 
        associated with child marriage and the benefits for 
        adolescents, especially girls, of access to education, health 
        care, livelihood skills, microfinance, and savings programs;
            (2) support for activities to educate girls in primary and 
        secondary school at the appropriate age and keeping them in 
        age-appropriate grade levels through adolescence;
            (3) support for activities to reduce education fees and 
        enhance safe and supportive conditions in primary and secondary 
        schools to meet the needs of girls, including--
                    (A) access to water and suitable hygiene 
                facilities, including separate lavatories and latrines 
                for girls;
                    (B) assignment of female teachers;
                    (C) safe routes to and from school; and
                    (D) eliminating sexual harassment and other forms 
                of violence and coercion;
            (4) support for activities that allow adolescent girls to 
        access health care services and proper nutrition, which is 
        essential to both their school performance and their economic 
        productivity;
            (5) assistance to train adolescent girls and their parents 
        in financial literacy and access economic opportunities, 
        including livelihood skills, savings, microfinance, and small-
        enterprise development;
            (6) support for education, including through community and 
        faith-based organizations and youth programs, that helps remove 
        gender stereotypes and the bias against girls used to justify 
        child marriage, especially efforts targeted at men and boys, 
        promotes zero tolerance for violence, and promotes gender 
        equality, which in turn help to increase the perceived value of 
        girls;
            (7) assistance to create peer support and female mentoring 
        networks and safe social spaces specifically for girls; and
            (8) support for local advocacy work to provide legal 
        literacy programs at the community level to ensure that 
        governments and law enforcement officials are meeting their 
        obligations to prevent child and forced marriage.

SEC. 6. RESEARCH AND DATA.

    It is the sense of the Senate that the President and all relevant 
agencies should work through the Administrator of the United States 
Agency for International Development and any other relevant agencies of 
the Department of State, and in conjunction with relevant executive 
branch agencies as part of their ongoing research and data collection 
activities, to--
            (1) collect and make available data on the incidence of 
        child marriage in countries that receive foreign or development 
        assistance from the United States where the practice of child 
        marriage is prevalent; and
            (2) collect and make available data on the impact of the 
        incidence of child marriage and the age at marriage on progress 
        in meeting key development goals.

SEC. 7. DEPARTMENT OF STATE'S COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 
              PRACTICES.

    The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended--
            (1) in section 116 (22 U.S.C. 2151n), by adding at the end 
        the following new subsection:
    ``(g) The report required by subsection (d) shall include for each 
country in which child marriage is prevalent at rates at or above 40 
percent in at least one subnational region, a description of the status 
of the practice of child marriage in such country. In this subsection, 
the term `child marriage' means the marriage of a girl or boy, not yet 
the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law or under the age of 18 
if no such law exists, in the country in which such girl or boy is a 
resident.''; and
            (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304), by adding at the end 
        the following new subsection:
    ``(i) The report required by subsection (b) shall include for each 
country in which child marriage is prevalent at rates at or above 40 
percent in at least one subnational region, a description of the status 
of the practice of child marriage in such country. In this subsection, 
the term `child marriage' means the marriage of a girl or boy, not yet 
the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law or under the age of 18 
if no such law exists, in the country in which such girl or boy is a 
resident.''.
                                                       Calendar No. 637

111th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                 S. 987

                          [Report No. 111-344]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To protect girls in developing countries through the prevention of 
                child marriage, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

             October 26 (legislative day, October 1), 2010

                       Reported with an amendment