(g) To protect children, especially the girl child, in situations of armed conflict against participation, recruitment, rape and sexual exploitation and abuse through adherence to the applicable principles of international human rights and humanitarian law; (h) To create, improve or develop, as appropriate, and fund training programmes for judicial, legal, medical, social, educational, police, military, peacekeeping and immigration personnel, in order to avoid the abuse of power leading to violence against women and sensitize such personnel to the nature of gender-based acts and threats of violence so that fair treatment of female victims can be ensured; (i) To mainstream a gender perspective, as appropriate, into national immigration and asylum policies, regulations and practices, in order to extend protection to those women whose claim for protection is based on gender-related persecution; (j) To examine and consider modifying existing legal definitions and standards to ensure that they fully protect the human rights of all women and girls affected by armed conflict, and to reaffirm that rape, including systematic rape, and sexual slavery in armed conflict constitute war crimes, and under certain circumstances constitute crimes against humanity and an act of genocide as defined in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; (k) To take account of the impact of armed conflict on the health of all women and introduce measures to address the full range of women's health needs, including those of women with disabilities, and the psychological needs arising from trauma stemming from sexual abuses and the effects of violations of their rights; 10. Reminds Governments that their obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women must be fully implemented with regard to violence against women, taking into account General Recommendation No. 19 adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women at its eleventh session, and calls upon those States which are still not parties to the Convention to work actively towards ratification of or accession to it so that universal ratification can be achieved by the year 2000; 11. Calls upon States to eradicate traditional or customary practices, particularly female genital mutilation, that are harmful to or discriminatory against women and that are violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of women through the development and implementation of national legislation and policies prohibiting such practices, the prosecution of perpetrators of such practices, and awareness-raising programmes, education and training; 12. Requests the Secretary-General to make available to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-fifth session and to the Commission on the Status of Women at its forty-third session his report to the General Assembly at its fifty-third session on the implementation of Assembly resolution 52/99; 13. Requests Governments to support initiatives of women's organizations and non-governmental organizations all over the world to raise awareness of the issue of violence against women and to contribute to its elimination; 14. Renews its request to the Secretary-General to continue to provide the Special Rapporteur with all necessary assistance, in particular the staff and resources required to perform all mandated functions, especially in carrying out and following up on missions undertaken either separately or jointly with other special rapporteurs or working groups, and adequate assistance for periodic consultations with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and all other treaty bodies; 15. Invites the Special Rapporteur to continue to cooperate with other special rapporteurs, special representatives, independent experts and chairpersons of the working groups of the special procedures of the Commission on Human Rights, including, where appropriate, undertaking joint missions and writing joint reports; page 4