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Over 5000 girls have become victims of early marriages this year in Azerbaijan, stated Rashida Manjoo, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, who was in Baku, reports the Azerbaijani news agency "APA."

She reported that during the mission the increase of early, forced and informal marriages, that are so typical for the southern regions of the country, was particularly emphasized.

"According to the State Committee for Family, Women and Children issues, more than 5,000 girls in 2013, have become victims of early marriages. This figure was close to 4,000 in 2012. Early marriages cause serious harm to physical and moral condition of every human being, as well as the socio-economic development and reproductive health of the girls," the UN special rapporteur stated.

According to her, as noted in the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 2009, to prevent such unions, as well as to ensure proper legal registration of all marriages measures should be undertaken by the government, awareness-raising campaigns should continue and appropriate work in the community and religious structures should be implemented as well.

According to UNICEF data in 2012, in Azerbaijan, about 9 thousand girls under 15 had had early marriages.

In addition, as reported by the news agency "Turan", Rashida Manjoo touched upon the subject of violence against women in Azerbaijan. In this regard, she noted that Azerbaijan only partially fulfills its commitments to the UN Human Rights Council.

According to the agency, the special rapporteur is surprised that the women, who have experienced violence, do not talk about it, adhering to common principles existing in the society. "One of our main goals in visiting countries such as Azerbaijan, is examining the situation concerning the violence committed against women and providing recommendations to the Government in this regard," she said.

According to her, the family help centers are inactive, they are not able to provide psychological, social assistance, to protect the victims. Women often turn to private lawyers, this creates the impression that the rights of women with low-income are not protected in a proper way. Each ministry must have someone regulating gender issues, however they do not have, Manjoo added.