A/RES/58/196 3. Expresses its concern regarding: (a) The breaches of freedom of expression, opinion, association and assembly and the attacks on human rights defenders throughout the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in particular in the eastern part of the country; (b) The continued suspension of the moratorium on the carrying out of the death penalty, in particular the death sentences passed on 7 January 2003 by the Military Order Court which had tried the persons accused of assassinating the former President of the Republic; (c) The excessive accumulation and spread of small arms and the distribution, circulation and illicit trafficking of arms in the region and their negative impact on human rights; (d) The increase in the number of refugees and internally displaced persons, in particular in the eastern part of the country; (e) The continued insecurity, particularly in the east of the country in the zones still held by armed groups, which seriously hampers the efforts of humanitarian organizations to gain access to people affected by the worrying humanitarian situation; 4. Urges all parties to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: (a) To cease immediately all military activities, including support for the armed groups allied to them, in order to facilitate the re-establishment of the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; (b) To implement fully and without delay both the Bujumbura Commitment of 19 June 2003 and the Dar es Salaam Agreement of 16 May 2003 and to cooperate with the Ituri Interim Administration in overseeing the settlement of the conflict in the north-eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; (c) To continue to respect their obligations as regards the implementation of the Transitional Constitution; (d) To allow free and secure access to all areas so as to permit and support investigations of the presumed serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, with a view to bringing those responsible to justice, and to cooperate fully to that end with national and international human rights protection mechanisms to investigate alleged human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; (e) To put an immediate end to the recruitment and use of child soldiers, which are in contravention of international law and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, 10 with the understanding that, under the Convention on the Rights of the Child 11 and the Optional Protocol thereto on the involvement of children in armed conflict, 12 persons under the age of 18 are entitled to special protection, and to provide information without delay on measures taken to discontinue such practices; _______________ 10 Human Rights: A Compilation of International Instruments, vol. II: Regional Instruments (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.97.XIV.1), sect. C, No. 39. 11 Resolution 44/25, annex. 12 Resolution 54/263, annex I. 4