Strengthening the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme, in particular its technical cooperation capacity A/RES/69/197 in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition, on development, peace, stability and security and human rights, and at the increasing vulnerability of States to such crime, Convinced that the rule of law and development are strongly interrelated and mutually reinforcing, and that the advancement of the rule of law at the national and international levels, including through crime prevention and criminal justice mechanisms, is essential for sustained and inclusive economic growth and sustainable development and the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, all of which in turn reinforce the rule of law, Stressing the importance of strengthened international cooperation, based on the principles of shared responsibility and in accordance with international law, to dismantle illicit networks and counter the world drug problem and transnational organized crime, including money-laundering, trafficking in persons, trafficking in arms and other forms of organized crime, all of which threaten national security and undermine sustainable development and the rule of law, Concerned by the serious challenges and threats posed by trafficking in firearms, their parts and components and ammunition, and concerned also about its links with terrorism and other forms of transnational organized crime, including drug trafficking, Noting international efforts to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in conventional arms, in particular in small arms and light weapons, as demonstrated by the adoption in 2001 of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, 15 and the entry into force in 2005 of the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 16 and the forthcoming entry into force of the Arms Trade Treaty 17 on 24 December 2014, Noting with appreciation the activities carried out, upon request, by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, through its Global Firearms Programme, in the areas of legislative and technical assistance, capacity-building, awareness-raising and research and analysis, Expressing concern at the use of information and telecommunications technologies to abuse and exploit children, Convinced of the importance of preventing youth crime, supporting the rehabilitation of young offenders and their reintegration into society, protecting child victims and witnesses, including efforts to prevent their revictimization, and addressing the needs of children of prisoners, and stressing that such responses should take into account the human rights and best interests of children and young people, as called for in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocols thereto, 18 where applicable, and in other relevant United Nations standards and norms in juvenile justice, where appropriate, _______________ 15 Report of the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, New York, 9–20 July 2001 (A/CONF.192/15), chap. IV, para. 24. 16 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2326, No. 39574. 17 See resolution 67/234 B. 18 United Nations, Treaty Series, vols. 1577, 2171 and 2173, No. 27531; and resolution 66/138, annex. 5/14