President Julius Maada Bio has praised First Lady Dr. Fatima Maada Bio for her “unwavering determination and leadership” after the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution establishing 27 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage.
The resolution, titled A/80/L.99, was adopted by consensus on 4th September 2026 at the UN Headquarters in New York. It was tabled by Sierra Leone and co-sponsored by more than 66 countries including India, Rwanda, Morocco, Cabo Verde, Costa Rica and Afghanistan.
In a post on his official page, President Bio thanked co-sponsoring nations, development partners and civil society groups, and singled out the First Lady for commendation.
“Our work is far from over,” President Bio stated, pledging that government will continue to support her advocacy for women and girls.
The new International Day is intended to give the world an annual platform for awareness, advocacy and action to protect the rights, education and wellbeing of children, particularly girls.
Why This Is A Big Win For Sierra Leone
This is not the First Lady’s first success at the UN. In 2022, she championed the adoption of 18th November as the World Day for the Prevention of and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Violence.
Domestically, her flagship “Hands Off Our Girls” campaign, launched in 2018, was credited with pushing government to declare rape and sexual violence a national emergency in 2019 and later to pass the landmark Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, which President Bio signed into law in 2024. The Act makes marriage under 18 a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment and heavy fines.
Sierra Leone has historically had one of the highest rates of child marriage. UNICEF data shows about one in three girls in the country was married before 18, a driver of school dropouts, teenage pregnancy and maternal mortality.
Globally, the problem remains huge. UNICEF estimates about 650 million women alive today were married as children, with 12 million girls married each year.
Speaking after the adoption, First Lady Fatima Maada Bio, who also serves as President of the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD), described child marriage as a form of “legalised rape.”
“Behind every statistic… there is a child, there is a name, there is a dream, and there is a future. A girl who should be learning may instead be preparing for marriage,” she told the General Assembly.
“A day itself cannot by itself end child marriage, but political attention can, strong laws can, effective institutions can, education can… and above all, sustained political will can.” d938
The initiative was jointly championed by child rights activist Bhuwan Ribhu, founder of Just Rights for Children, who was the only civil society representative present at the adoption. Ribhu said the choice of 27 November is symbolic – it is the day India launched its national “Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat” – Child Marriage Free India – campaign in 2024.
The UN resolution now calls on all Member States to develop holistic national strategies, strengthen laws, and mark 27 November each year with public education campaigns.
For Sierra Leone, the adoption places the country at the centre of a global campaign to end child marriage by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
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