A/RES/58/156
Deeply concerned also that, in situations of poverty, war and armed conflict,
girl children are among those most affected and that their potential for full
development is thus limited,
Concerned that the girl child has furthermore become the victim of sexually
transmitted diseases and increasingly of the human immunodeficiency virus, which
have a serious impact on the quality of her life and leave her open to further
discrimination,
Concerned also by the increasing number of child-headed households
particularly orphan girls, including those orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic,
Convinced that racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance reveal themselves in a differentiated manner for women and girls and
can be among the factors leading to a deterioration in their living conditions,
poverty, violence, multiple forms of discrimination and limitation or denial of their
human rights,
Stresses the need for full and urgent implementation of the rights of the
1.
girl child as guaranteed to her under all human rights instruments, including the
Convention on the Rights of the Child2 and the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women,1 as well as the need for universal
ratification of those instruments;
2.
Urges States to consider signing, ratifying or acceding to the Optional
Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women 18 and the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child;3
3.
Urges all States to take all necessary measures and to institute legal
reforms to ensure the full and equal enjoyment by the girl child of all human rights
and fundamental freedoms and to take effective action against violations of those
rights and freedoms;
Urges all Governments and the United Nations system to strengthen
4.
efforts bilaterally and with international organizations and private sector donors in
order to achieve the goals of the World Education Forum,13 in particular that of
eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and to
implement the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative as a means of reaching this
goal, and reaffirms the commitment contained in the United Nations Millennium
Declaration5 in this regard;
5.
Calls upon all States to take measures to address the obstacles that
continue to affect the achievement of the goals set forth in the Beijing Platform for
Action,9 as contained in paragraph 33 of the further actions and initiatives to
implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 19 where appropriate,
including the strengthening of national mechanisms to implement policies and
programmes for the girl child and, in some cases, to enhance coordination among
responsible institutions for the realization of the human rights of girls, as indicated
in the further actions and initiatives;
Urges States to enact and strictly enforce laws to ensure that marriage is
6.
entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses, to enact
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18
19
Resolution 54/4, annex.
Resolution S-23/3, annex.
3