A/RES/53/128
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children, in particular those in especially difficult circumstances, should be strengthened, including through
effective measures to combat exploitation and abuse of children, such as female infanticide, harmful child
labour, sale of children and organs, child prostitution and child pornography, and which reaffirms that all
human rights and fundamental freedoms are universal,
Underlining the need for mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes relating
to children,
Welcoming the fact that the special situation of children has been taken into account in the conclusion of
the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International
Criminal Court, guided by the principles and provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,4
Profoundly concerned that the situation of children in many parts of the world remains critical as a
result of poverty, inadequate social and economic conditions aggravated by the current international financial
crisis in an increasingly globalized world economy, pandemics, natural disasters, armed conflicts,
displacement, exploitation, illiteracy, hunger, intolerance and disability and inadequate legal protection, and
convinced that urgent and effective national and international action is called for,
Recognizing that legislation alone is not enough to prevent violations of the rights of the child, that
stronger political commitment is needed and that Governments should implement their laws and complement
legislative measures with effective action,
Recommending that, within their mandates, all relevant human rights mechanisms and all other relevant
organs and mechanisms of the United Nations system and the supervisory bodies of the specialized agencies
pay attention to particular situations in which children are in danger and where their rights are violated and
that they take into account the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and welcoming the rightsbased approach adopted by the United Nations Children’s Fund and the steps taken further to increase
system-wide coordination and inter-agency cooperation for the promotion and protection of the rights of the
child,
Recalling the important open debate and the statement made by the President of the Security Council on
behalf of the Council on 29 June 1998 on the item entitled “Children and armed conflict”,5
Stressing the need to strengthen partnerships between Governments, international organizations and all
sectors of civil society, in particular non-governmental organizations,
I
4
Resolution 44/25, annex.
5
S/PRST/1998/18; see Resolutions and Decisions of the Security Council, 1998.
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