A/RES/57/156 3. Welcomes the further development of close cooperation between the Council of Europe, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Economic Commission for Europe; 4. Notes the role the Council of Europe has played in facilitating the entry into force of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court 2 and the readiness of the Council to provide its member States with the appropriate assistance with a view to them becoming parties to and implementing the Rome Statute; 5. Expresses its appreciation for the contribution of the Council of Europe to the implementation of the Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held in Durban, South Africa, from 31 August to 8 September 2001, 3 including the followup action taken by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance; 6. Notes the opening for signature on 3 May 2002 in Vilnius of Protocol No. 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, 4 concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances; 7. Expresses its appreciation for the substantial contribution of the Council of Europe to the special session of the General Assembly on children, held from 8 to 10 May 2002, and notes the adoption by the Council of the European Convention on the Exercise of Children’s Rights, 5 which entered into force in 2000; 8. Also expresses its appreciation for the contributions of the Council of Europe to the International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Monterrey, Mexico, from 18 to 22 March 2002, and particularly to its follow-up process, through activities involving Governments, parliamentarians, local and regional authorities and civil society organizations, aimed at turning the commitments made at the Conference into specific actions; 9. Further expresses its appreciation for the substantial contribution of the Council of Europe to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September 2002, as well as its contributions to the follow-up work, for example, concerning education for sustainable development, carried out by its North-South Centre; 10. Commends strongly the contribution of the Council of Europe to international action against terrorism, welcomes the work of the Council’s Multidisciplinary Group on International Action against Terrorism aimed, inter alia, at strengthening legal cooperation in the fight against terrorism, and in this context welcomes the approval on 7 November 2002 by the Committee of Ministers at its one hundred and eleventh session of the content of the draft protocol amending the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism 6 which was opened for signature in 1977; _______________ 2 Official Records of the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, Rome, 15 June–17 July 1998, vol. I: Final documents (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.02.I.5), sect. A. 3 See A/CONF.189/12 and Corr.1, chap. I. 4 Human Rights: A Compilation of International Instruments, vol. II: Regional Instruments (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.97.XIV.1), sect. B, No. 8. 5 Ibid., sect. B, No. 35. 6 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1137, No. 17828. 2

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