A/RES/55/78
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
16 February 2001
Fifty-fifth session
Agenda item 110
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly
[on the report of the Third Committee (A/55/598)]
55/78. The girl child
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 54/148 of 17 December 1999 and all previous relevant
resolutions, including the agreed conclusions of the Commission on the Status of
Women, in particular those relevant to the girl child,
Recalling also all relevant United Nations conferences and the Declaration and
Agenda for Action adopted by the World Congress against Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children, held at Stockholm from 27 to 31 August 1996, 1 as well as
the outcome documents of the recent five-year reviews of the implementation of the
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and
Development 2 and the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social
Development, 3
Deeply concerned about discrimination against the girl child and the violation
of the rights of the girl child, which often result in less access for girls to education,
nutrition, physical and mental health care and in girls enjoying fewer of the rights,
opportunities and benefits of childhood and adolescence than boys and often being
subjected to various forms of cultural, social, sexual and economic exploitation and
to violence and harmful practices, such as female infanticide, incest, early marriage,
prenatal sex selection and female genital mutilation,
Recognizing the need to achieve gender equality so as to ensure a just and
equitable world for girls,
Deeply concerned that, in situations of poverty, war and armed conflict, girl
children are among the victims most affected and that thus their potential for full
development is limited,
Concerned that the girl child has furthermore become a victim of sexually
transmitted diseases and the human immunodeficiency virus, which affects the
quality of her life and leaves her open to further discrimination,
1
A/51/385, annex.
Resolution S-21/2, annex.
3
Resolution S-24/2, annex.
2
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