US embassy cable - 05VIENNA854

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Identifier:	05VIENNA854
Wikileaks:	View 05VIENNA854 at Wikileaks.org
Origin:	Embassy Vienna
Created:	2005-03-15 14:05:00
Classification:	UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Tags:	ECON ELAB PHUM PGOV SCUL SOCI KWMN AU
Redacted:	This cable was not redacted by Wikileaks.

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#