LONDON, Oct 25 (APP): A two-day conference on Tackling forced marriage through partnership working in the UK and Overseas concluded here on Thursday with calls for protecting women from the ‘appalling human rights abuse of this practice.
The Conference was organised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office at the historic Lancaster House in Central London in partnership with the European Commission and attended by delegates drawn from NGOs, Metropolitan Police, British High Commission in Islamabad, legal community and the European Union.
British Junior Foreign Minister Meg Munn said the establishment of Foreign Marriage Unit within the FCO has helped to bring the down the number of such cases but there was still much to do.
She said UK has been able to tackle forced marriages in a systematic manner through a dedicated unit to combat this human rights abuse.
Citing evidence of a more focused approach to tackling abuses, Ms Munn described a recent case involving a 23-year-old woman diagnosed with schizophrenia who was tricked into travelling to Pakistan to marry a complete stranger.
She said the FMU liaised with the British High Commission in Islamabad to rescue the victim, who was then allocated a place at a women’s refuge back in Britain.
The British junior Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker outlined beefed up measures put in place in the UK to tackle this ‘cowardly crime‘ following previous criticisms that the British justice system did too little to protect vulnerable women.
He said the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act passed in July gives the courts powers to make “Forced Marriage Protection Orders” to stop someone from forcing another person to marry.
Similar conferences are due to take place in the Netherlands, Turkey and Austria. On this occasion, some of the victims narrated their personal experiences.