CNN —Colombia’s congress has voted to change a law that allowed minors to get married with parental consent. The proposal would make the minimum age for marriage 18, and seeks to protect the rights and development opportunities for minors. “Minors are not sexual objects, they’re girls,” congresswoman Clara López Obregón said in a statement after the proposal was greenlit. Child marriage remains a widespread practice worldwide and affects around 12 million girls per year, according to the UN’s agency for children, UNICEF. In Latin America, poverty is the main factor leading to minors getting married, according to UNICEF.

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Persons: CNN —, Gustavo Petro, –, ”, Clara López Obregón, there’s Organizations: CNN, UNICEF, ” UNICEF Locations: America