Although agreeing that the issue of child marriage should be tackled, the agency warned that integrating it in the proposed bill would take a strictly punitive approach.
In a statement, Unicef said addressing child marriages required a recognition of the various social, cultural and economic factors that allowed its continuation.
Unicef voiced support for the call to raise the age of marriage to 18 by amending the Child Act, the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act and the Islamic Family Law in each state.
It said education and awareness-raising campaigns should also be held to change social norms. Other preventive efforts include early intervention for at-risk groups and intervention to support children who had been subjected to child marriages.
“Child marriage has damaging and long-term consequences on the child and can lead to a lifetime of disadvantage and deprivation.
“This harmful practice is one of the worst forms of violation of child rights in society.
“Whether it happens to a girl or a boy, child marriage not only robs the children of their childhood, but also deprives them of their right to health, education, leisure and play.”
Unicef said a 2016 poll conducted in Malaysia showed that 86% of respondents believed the minimum age to get married should be 18.
This showed that many in Malaysia, especially the young people, agreed that marriage below 18 should not be allowed, it said.
The issue of child marriages has taken the front seat lately with DAP championing its inclusion in a new bill to address sexual crimes against children.
DAP assistant national publicity secretary Teo Nie Ching said child marriages still occurred in Malaysia despite Section 376 of the Penal Code which criminalises sexual intercourse with girls under the age of 16.
She said a 2010 United Nations report also showed that over 82,000 married women in the country were girls between the ages of 15 and 19.