Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05VIENNA854
2005-03-15 14:05:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Vienna
Cable title:
CHILD MARRIAGE: AUSTRIAN RESPONSE
how-toThis record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS VIENNA 000854
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
STATE FOR G/IWI (L Khadiagala) AND EUR/AGS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ELAB PHUM PGOV SCUL SOCI KWMN AU
SUBJECT: CHILD MARRIAGE: AUSTRIAN RESPONSE
REF: SECSTATE 36341
THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.
(U) The following responses are keyed to reftel:
A) (U) The legal age of marriage in Austria is 18 for
males and females. Minors aged 16-17 can marry by
petitioning the courts for a waiver. The courts will
grant a waiver if they consider the person sufficiently
mature for marriage and if the minor has the consent of
his/her parents. If the parents do not consent, the
courts can permit the marriage if the courts deem that no
justifiable reasons for the parents' refusal exist.
B) (SBU) The Vienna NGO Orient Express has told Emboffs
that underage marriage is occasionally a problem among
immigrants from some Muslim countries (such as Turkey and
Egypt). There are instances in which an immigrant has
entered into an underage marriage with a teenage girl in
their home country and has then returned to Austria with
her. Orient Express reports encountering a few such
cases while counseling immigrant women. Since the
immigration status of the underage spouses generally
derives from their husbands' residency, the girls may
find themselves in a difficult situation if marital
problems arise.
C) (U) There are no U.S.-funded initiatives in Austria to
reduce the incidence of child marriage or address the
negative effects of this practice.
BROWN#
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
STATE FOR G/IWI (L Khadiagala) AND EUR/AGS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ELAB PHUM PGOV SCUL SOCI KWMN AU
SUBJECT: CHILD MARRIAGE: AUSTRIAN RESPONSE
REF: SECSTATE 36341
THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.
(U) The following responses are keyed to reftel:
A) (U) The legal age of marriage in Austria is 18 for
males and females. Minors aged 16-17 can marry by
petitioning the courts for a waiver. The courts will
grant a waiver if they consider the person sufficiently
mature for marriage and if the minor has the consent of
his/her parents. If the parents do not consent, the
courts can permit the marriage if the courts deem that no
justifiable reasons for the parents' refusal exist.
B) (SBU) The Vienna NGO Orient Express has told Emboffs
that underage marriage is occasionally a problem among
immigrants from some Muslim countries (such as Turkey and
Egypt). There are instances in which an immigrant has
entered into an underage marriage with a teenage girl in
their home country and has then returned to Austria with
her. Orient Express reports encountering a few such
cases while counseling immigrant women. Since the
immigration status of the underage spouses generally
derives from their husbands' residency, the girls may
find themselves in a difficult situation if marital
problems arise.
C) (U) There are no U.S.-funded initiatives in Austria to
reduce the incidence of child marriage or address the
negative effects of this practice.
BROWN#