GENEVA [Switzerland], A panel of UN experts on Thursday expressed great disappointment at the continued lack of protection for young women and girls belonging to minority communities in Pakistan, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a press release. statement. The panel of experts included Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences; Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children Siobhan Mullaly, Special Rapporteur on minority issues Nicolas Levrat; Nazila Ghania, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief; Dorothy Estrada Tanque (Chair) Claudia Flores, Ivana Krstic, Hanna Lu, and Laura Nyirinkindi, Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls According to the same UN press release, experts expressed concern that forced marriage of girls from religious minorities And religious conversion is done. Forced executions that have been validated by courts often invoke religious law to justify keeping victims with their abductors rather than allowing them to return to their parents. The press release claims, “The exposure of young women and girls belonging to religious minority communities to such despicable violations of human rights and such crimes can no longer be tolerated nor justified.Christian and Hindu girls are particularly vulnerable to forced conversion, kidnapping, trafficking, child marriage, domestic slavery and sexual violence.'' Experts also noted that the crimes were dismissed under the guise of "love marriages". Perpetrators often escape accountability. The UN press release also noted that no child, early or forced marriage can be justified in any case. According to international law, any consent is irrelevant in a marriage if the victim is a minor (under 18 years of age). The experts said, “A woman's right to choose her life partner and freely enter into marriage is central to her life, dignity and equality as a human being and must be protected by law." They stressed the need for provisions to invalidate, annul or dissolve marriages performed under duress, with due consideration for the women and girls concerned, and to ensure justice, treatment, protection and adequate assistance to victims. UN experts also highlighted cases of forced marriage. Conversion cited the case of Mishal Rashid, a young girl who was abducted at gunpoint from her home while preparing for school in 2022. Rashid She was sexually assaulted, forcibly converted to Islam and forced to marry her abductor. They also noted that on March 13, 2024, a 13-year-old Christian girl was allegedly abducted, She was forcibly converted to Islam and married to her abductor after her age was recorded as 18 years on the marriage certificate, despite the children's right to freedom of thought, according to Article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. According to Article 14, change of religion or belief should be free in all circumstances, without any pressure or undue inducement. "Pakistani authorities should enact and strictly enforce laws to ensure that marriages are solemnized only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses and that the minimum age for marriage is set at 18 years, including for girls," the experts said.The panel of experts said, "All women and girls should be treated without discrimination, including those belonging to Christian and Hindu communities or indeed those belonging to other religions and beliefs." , legal protection against abduction and trafficking of minority girls, and upholding the country's international human rights obligations.