This paper addresses matters related to the right to marry (Article 9) falling under Title II ‘Freedoms’ of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and briefly describes the phenomenon of forced marriage, examines selected legislative measures taken to address it and lists promising initiatives to prevent forced marriage and support victims. It is primarily based on desk research carried out in five European Union (EU) Member States: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
This publication has been made to provide background information for the Members of the Committee on .Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) of the European Parliament attending the 60th session of the CSW, as regards the priority theme of the session: women’s empowerment and the link to sustainable development. It gives an overview on the role of women's empowerment in the context of the Sustainable Development Agenda, clarifies some basic concepts relating to empowerment and sustainable development and examines the means of implementing, financing and monitoring of the activities related to the new Sustainable Development Goal 5 entitled 'Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls'.