Pakistan must take steps to terminate forced child marriage by 2023: UN authorities have urged.

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The UN rights experts have expressed deep concerns about the reported increased incidents of abductions, forced marriages and conversions of girls from Pakistan’s religious minorities. They urged the government to take swift action to halt such practices and investigate them thoroughly.

The expert group noted their worries that these “marriages and conversions take place under threat of violence to these girls and women, or their families”. They called on the government of Pakistan to take immediate steps to prevent such acts and investigate them without delay.

The group of around a dozen independent UN rights experts includes the special rapporteurs on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, on contemporary forms of slavery, on violence against women and on minority issues.

Objectively and in accordance with local laws and global human rights standards, investigations into reports of offences committed against religious minority girls and young women in Pakistan should be conducted, the UN Human Rights Council-appointed experts have urged. They highlighted claims that the Pakistani judicial system allows for the mistreatment of minority females, after “unquestioned acceptance” of fraudulent proof. Family members reportedly find that the police do not take the victims’ complaints seriously, either by refusing to register them or saying the incidents are “love marriages” not crimes.

The experts noted that abductors often require the females to sign documents falsely indicating they are of legal age to marry and have chosen to wed and convert of their own free will, which the police use as evidence that no crime transpired.

The specialists stressed the importance of making sure all those suffering, regardless of their religious background, are given access to justice and the same rights and protections under the law. They added that it is essential for governments to create and implement laws which prohibit any form of forced conversions, child weddings, kidnapping and human trafficking.