Marriage and Human Rights

The author argues that marriage based on the free consent of both spouses is one of the basic institutions of Western civilization. The United Nations Convention on the Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage, and Registration of Marriages, which was opened for signatures in 1962, was not an imposition of the Western concept of marriage on other cultures, however, as the records of negotiation (travaux preparatoires) for the Convention show that it was established by an alliance of Eastern and Western Europe, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, as well as many governments in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. This article discusses the history and background of the Convention and addresses legal issues it raises. It concludes that, although limited in scope, the Convention provides a welcome addition to the body of conventional international in the human rights field. [Descriptors: Marriage, International]