Welcoming the rights-based approach adopted by the United Nations Children's Fund and the steps taken to further increase system-wide coordination and cooperation for the promotion and protection of the rights of the child, Also welcoming the fact that, guided by the principles and provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the special situation of children has been taken into account in the outcome of the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (A/CONF.183/9), Recalling the open debates of the Security Council in which the issue of children in armed conflict has been taken up, Welcoming the special dialogue on the rights of the child held during the fifty-fifth session of the Commission, which in this instance focused on the marginalization and exclusion of children, and encouraging further contributions to the ongoing discussions within the United Nations on the rights of the child, particularly to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Convention, Recommending that all relevant organs and mechanisms of the United Nations system take active part in the follow-up to the World Summit for Children and promote the preparatory work for the special session of the General Assembly to be held in the year 2001, I Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1. Welcomes: (a) The unprecedented number of 191 States that have ratified or acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a universal commitment to the rights of the child and urges once again those States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify or accede to the Convention as a matter of priority, having in mind the tenth anniversaries, in the year 2000, of the World Summit for Children and the entry into force of the Convention; (b) The role of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in examining the progress made by States parties in implementing the obligations undertaken in the Convention and in providing recommendations to States parties on its implementation and, in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in creating awareness of the principles and provisions of the Convention, and page 3