The New Zealand government told UNICEF that it will continue to educate ethnic communities to prevent forced marriages involving young women and will not make change to the country's marriage legislation.

The UNICEF earlier supported a call for the NZ government to change its marriage law after reports about a 17-year-old Pakistani girl who was forced into marriage in Wellington have been published in different news publications. The young teen was reportedly threatened with death by her family, and has called for help for herself and for others in her situation.

UNICEF urged the NZ government to make a legislation change to prevent forced and child marriages. A UN committee forwarded recommendations to NZ government with regards to the issue.

However, the Government said it will continue to work with ethnic communities through education rather than changing the law, TVNZ reported.

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Justice Minister Judith Collins said Cabinet had been advised that there was no gap in the law, the Dominion Post reported.

"Forced marriage is illegal in New Zealand - we have one law for everyone, irrespective of their culture and tradition," she said.

"Making further changes to the law is not the most effective way to address the issue of forced marriage. Our key focus will be on continuing to engage with ethnic communities about the existing New Zealand law."

UNICEF executive director Dennis McKinlay told Newstalk ZB it is disappointing to hear of the Pakistani teen's case, noting officials who issued the marriage license should have known that something was not right.

An ethnic support group called Shakti has been actively lobbying for changes in marriage law in the country.

Shakti coordinator Shasha Ali said the case of the 17-year-old is just the tip of a growing iceberg in this country, TVNZ reported.

"We are seeing an increasing number of younger and younger women assessing our services with regards to forced and underage marriages," Ali told TV ONE's Breakfast.

She revealed some girls calling for help are as young as 13 and 14.

"The Marriage Act obviously has some provisions in terms of what constitutes a legal marriage and what Shakti advocates for is a review of specific provisions so the legal age of young woman who are being forced into marriage can be increased from 16 to 18."

McKinlay said there are about 25 cases of forced marriage a year in New Zealand, and for this reason, officials involved in validating marriages should at least be trained further.

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