A/RES/58/157 Reaffirming the outcome document of the special session of the General Assembly on children, entitled “A world fit for children”, 8 and the commitments contained therein to promote and protect the rights of each child, every human being below the age of 18 years, including adolescents, and the integration of child rights issues into the outcome documents of all major United Nations conferences, special sessions and summits, Reaffirming also the essential roles of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission on Human Rights in promoting and protecting the rights and welfare of children, and noting the importance of the debates held by the Security Council on children and armed conflict, of Council resolutions 1379 (2001) of 20 November 2001 and 1460 (2003) of 30 January 2003 and of the undertaking by the Council to give special attention to the protection, welfare and rights of children in armed conflict when taking action aimed at maintaining peace and security, including provisions for the protection of children in the mandates of peacekeeping operations, as well as the inclusion of child protection advisers in these operations, Welcoming the reports of the Secretary-General on the status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child 9 and on progress achieved in realizing the commitments set out in the document entitled “A world fit for children”, 10 and the report of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, 11 Welcoming also the work of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in examining the progress made by States parties to the Convention in implementing the obligations undertaken in the Convention and in providing recommendations to States parties on the implementation of the Convention and, in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in enhancing awareness of the principles and provisions of the Convention, Welcoming further the increase in the membership of the Committee on the Rights of the Child from ten to eighteen, Welcoming the appointment by the Secretary-General of the independent expert for the United Nations study on violence against children, Profoundly concerned that the situation of children in many parts of the world remains critical as a result of the persistence of poverty, social inequality, inadequate social and economic conditions in an increasingly globalized economic environment, pandemics, in particular HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, environmental damage, natural disasters, armed conflict, displacement, exploitation, illiteracy, hunger, intolerance, discrimination, gender inequality, disability and inadequate legal protection, and convinced that urgent and effective national and international action is called for, Bearing in mind the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World, 2001–2010, and recalling the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, 12 which serve as the basis for the Decade, _______________ 8 Resolution S-27/2, annex. A/58/282. 10 A/58/333. 11 See A/58/328 and Corr.1. 12 Resolutions 53/243 A and B. 9 2

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