CHILD MARRIAGE--PARAGUAY

UNCLAS ASUNCION 000387

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/BSC AND G/IWI (LYNN KHADIAGALA)
DEPT PASS USAID LAC/AA
NSC FOR KIMBERLY BREIER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM ECON ELAB PGOV SCUL SOCI KWMN PA
SUBJECT: CHILD MARRIAGE--PARAGUAY

REF: SECSTATE 36341


1. Per reftel, Law 1/92 stipulates that the minimum age to
contract marriage is 16. The law permits marriage at age 14
with judicial authorization. The age is the same for both
boys and girls.


2. Teresa Sanchez, legal advisor to the Minister for Children
and Adolescents, told PolOff that child marriage is generally
not a social problem in Paraguay, and that her department has
not encountered any cases of illegal child marriages. She
noted that adolescent marriages routinely arise from
unplanned teenage pregnancies, but that such cases generally
receive judicial authorization. Many adolescents also have
children at an early age without marrying.


3. There are no U.S.-funded initiatives in Paraguay that
address the issue of child marriage.
KEANE