This call, coming on the eve of International Women's Day, is part of a new report entitled 'Early Marriage, Child Spouses' which presents startling statistics showing that half of all girls in some countries are married by the time they reach age 18.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for instance, 74 percent of girls but just five percent of boys between the ages of 15 and 19 are married, according to the report.

''Until now there has been virtually no attempt to examine child marriage as a human rights violation in and of itself,'' Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF stressed.

''Forcing children, especially girls, into early marriages can be physically and emotionally harmful ... it violates their rights to personal freedom and growth,'' Bellamy emphasised.

For both boys and girls, early marriage has profound physical, intellectual, psychological and emotional consequences.

For girls, in addition, it will almost certainly mean premature pregnancy, which causes higher rates of maternal mortality, and is likely to lead to a lifetime of domestic and sexual subservience, said the report.

Girls aged 15 to 19 give birth to 15 million babies a year, according to UNICEF, and many of them do so without attending one ante-natal clinic or receiving the help of a professional midwife.

''I have received countless reports of complications and even death in pregnancy and childbirth of wives too young to safely bear children,'' declared Stephen H. Umemoto, Acting Director of the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre in Florence, Italy.

Teenage girls are more susceptible than mature women to sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, their vulnerability is dangerously increased because of the false belief in some places that if a man sleeps with a virgin, he'll be cured of HIV/AIDS, said UNICEF.

There are also reports from HIV/AIDS researchers in Eastern Africa that marriage is seen as one option for orphaned girls by care givers who find it hard to provide for them. Of the world's 13.2 million children orphaned by AIDS, 12.1 million are in Africa, according to UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan's latest report on HIV/AIDS.

Child marriages can be found across the globe, but are especially pervasive in parts of Africa and South Asia.

''In Western Europe and North America, marriages have historically taken place later in life,'' the report contends.

In the United States marriage cannot legally take place before the age of 16 as sexual relations before the age of 16 is deemed statutory rape (in some states the age is 18).

Poverty is one of the major factors underpinning child marriages - early marriage is a strategy for economic survival for some. Where poverty is acute, a young girl may be regarded as an economic burden and her marriage to a much older - sometimes even elderly - man, is a family survival strategy, and may even be seen as in her interests.

In Bangladesh, poverty stricken parents are persuaded to part with their daughters through promises of marriage, or by false marriages, which are used to lure girls into prostitution abroad, says the report.

A recent study of five poor villages carried out by the Egyptian Ministry of Social Affairs found young girls being married off to much older men from oil-rich Middle Eastern countries through brokers.

Abuse is common in child marriages. Data from Egypt indicates that 29 percent of married adolescents have been beaten by their husbands (or husband and others) and, of these adolescents, 41 percent have been beaten during pregnancy.

A study in Jordan, published in 2000, found that 26 percent of reported cases of domestic violence were committed against wives under 18.

Domestic violence causes some girls to run away in desperation. ''Those who do so, and those who choose a marriage partner against the wishes of their parents, may be punished, or even killed by their families. These girls run the risk of 'honour killings' that occur in Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Turkey and elsewhere,'' the UN states.

To prevent child marriages a wide range of individuals and organisations, from community leaders to international bodies must take action, UNICEF said Wednesday.

''We must work to change attitudes in families and societies at large, extend opportunities for childhood learning and education, offer appropriate support to families and children, and seek to have all children - girls and boys - recognised as valuable members of society rather than economic burdens,'' Umemoto emphasised.

Education is key in this process.

Persuading parents to keep their daughters in school is critical for the overall development of girls - and in the postponement of marriage, according to UNICEF.

Sri Lanka and the Southern Indian State of Kerala are good examples - both have high rates of first marriages taking place when a girl is older and both have also given high priority to girls' education. ''This has changed the way men and women perceive their roles and potential, and has led to a greater support for the rights of women than is found in other parts of [South Asia],'' says the report.

UNICEF's Global Girl's Education Programme, which addresses child marriages as part of its broader approach to gender discrimination, operates in more than 60 countries to ensure that girls have equal opportunity at education. For girls who are already married, services must be developed to counsel them on issues ranging from abuse to reproduction, said UNICEF.

By analysing child marriage as a violation of a child's basic rights, the UNICEF report seeks to build momentum for change.

''This is another step in a growing movement to end the silent despair of millions of children, especially girls, who are being shuttered away in lives often full of misery and pain,'' Bellamy said.

Copyright 2001 IPS

###