A/70/289 Enhancing accountability for children’s rights, strengthened policymaking and committed local action 87. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international standards recognize the primary responsibility of the State for the protection of children’s rights at all times, including when violence, insecurity and crime shape community life. They call for a steady and sustained process of implementation. 88. Armed violence in the community compromises the enjoyment of children’s rights, including the right to live free from violence; to personal integrity; to protection from discrimination, neglect, abuse and exploitation; to health and education, leisure and recreation; to freedom of expression, assembly, association and movement; and to access justice, effective remedies and judicial protection. 89. States need to adopt a wide-ranging and integrated approach to prevent violence and to safeguard the rights and best interests of the child in all decisions, including the design, planning, implementation and evaluation of all legal, political, administrative and budgetary measures. 90. State policies need to address the root causes of armed violence, including deprivation and social exclusion; undertake gender-sensitive approaches to secure boys’ and girls’ safety and protection, and the recovery and reintegration of victims; and fight impunity. Special protection measures are also needed for children and young people who try to leave gangs and organized criminal structures, to counter the risks they face and promote long-term options for their reintegration. 91. The success of those measures depends on genuine political will and a commitment to acting in a coordinated manner at the national and community levels. Central departments and local authorities are indispensable and mutually supportive players, including those dealing with social affairs, health and education, as well as justice and law enforcement, planning, financing and urbanization. Guided by international human rights standards, mobilizing secure funding and support from all areas and coordinating the diverse actors effectively, they can build and preserve safe spaces, including through early warning systems, and help transform violent contexts into inclusive, caring and peaceful environments for children and their families. 92. A solid legal framework legitimizes that process, especially when it clearly prohibits all forms of violence against children and offers effective mechanisms to provide counselling and referrals for those at risk, as well as for reporting, investigating and responding to incidents of violence. 93. Data and research are needed to capture the manifestations and incidence of armed violence, to monitor progress and the impact of interventions and to document initiatives that actually work. 94. Conflict prevention and resolution calls for the involvement of all actors, including children and young people. Listening to the experiences and opinions of children helps to reveal the hidden face of violence and to capture perceptions, attitudes and behaviour which may fuel increased acts of violence. Children’s views help to develop better tools and strategies for prevention and building resilience, for counselling, reporting and reintegration and for evaluating the impact on children’s lives. 20/25 15-13244