A/RES/66/140 Deeply concerned also that early pregnancy and early childbearing and limited access to sexual and reproductive health care, including in the area of skilled birth attendance and emergency obstetric care, cause high prevalences of obstetric fistula and high levels of maternal mortality and morbidity and furthermore entail complications during pregnancy and childbirth which often lead to death, particularly for young women and girls, Recognizing that progress towards ending child and forced marriages can have a positive impact on indicators related to girls’ education, maternal health and child health, thereby contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, Deeply concerned that, despite their widespread practice, child and forced marriages are still underreported, and recognizing that this requires further attention, Deeply concerned also that female genital mutilation violates and impairs the full enjoyment of the human rights of women and girls and that it is an irreparable and irreversible harmful practice, and that the goal of ending female genital mutilation by 2010, set out in the document entitled “A world fit for children”, remains unmet, Deeply concerned further that, in situations of poverty, war and armed conflict, girl children are among those most affected and furthermore become the victims of sexual violence, abuse and exploitation and sexually transmitted infections and diseases, including HIV and AIDS, which have a serious impact on the quality of their lives and leave them open to further discrimination, violence and neglect, thus limiting their potential for full development, Emphasizing that increased access to education for young people, especially girls, including in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, dramatically lowers their vulnerability to preventable diseases, in particular HIV infection and sexually transmitted diseases, Recognizing that early childbearing continues to be an impediment to the improvement of the educational and social status of girls in all parts of the world and that, overall, child and forced marriages and early motherhood can severely curtail their educational opportunities and are likely to have a long-term, adverse impact on their employment opportunities and on their and their children’s quality of life, Convinced that racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance reveal themselves in a differentiated manner for women and girls and can be among the factors leading to a deterioration in their living conditions, poverty, violence, multiple forms of discrimination and limitation or denial of their human rights, Recognizing that women and girls with disabilities are subject to multiple forms of discrimination, including in respect of their access to education and employment, and the importance of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in this regard, Noting with concern that, in some parts of the world, men outnumber women as a result, in part, of harmful attitudes and practices, such as female genital mutilation, son preference, which results in female infanticide and prenatal sex selection, early marriage, including child marriage, violence against women, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and discrimination against girls in food allocation and in 4