A lawyer working for Mizan el Adalla has criticized South Sudan Penal Code on Child Protection Act that prohibits sexual affair with the minor and any offense committed makes one liable to 14 years in prison.
The laws do not protect children because it is only applied to a person who impregnates underage but not to a father who gives his daughter into marriage, he explained.
Mading suggested amendment of the Penal Code to fully protect the child whether married off or impregnated.
He noted that human rights provide a framework for protecting vulnerable girls from child marriage.
Governments which ratified international conventions are bound by global standards and have legal responsibility for preventing violations of rights, the layer indicated.