A/RES/53/203 A-B Page 3 Expressing its appreciation for the efforts made in this regard by the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan and by the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Welcoming the contacts between the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan and various nonwarring Afghan parties and personalities, and supporting calls by these independent Afghans for an end to the fighting and any proposals that might advance the cause of peace, including the convening of a genuine loya jirgah to promote a political settlement, Expressing its appreciation for the commitment in support of and in coordination with the United Nations of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Afghanistan, especially the missions to Afghanistan undertaken jointly by the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Welcoming the recent exchange of prisoners between the Afghan parties, Recalling paragraph 13 of its resolution 52/211 B requesting the Secretary-General to continue to investigate fully reports about mass killings of prisoners of war and civilians and incidents of rape in Afghanistan and to include his findings in his next report to be submitted to the General Assembly, 1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General,3 and endorses the observations and recommendations set out therein; 2. Stresses that the main responsibility for finding a political solution to the conflict lies with the Afghan parties, and urges all of them to respond to the repeated United Nations calls for peace; 3. Calls upon all Afghan parties to cease immediately all armed hostilities, to renounce the use of force and to engage, without delay or preconditions, in a political dialogue under United Nations auspices aimed at achieving a lasting political settlement of the conflict through creating a broad-based, multi-ethnic and fully representative government, which would protect the rights of all Afghans and observe the international obligations of Afghanistan; 4. Welcomes the recent exchange of prisoners between the Afghan parties, and urges them to take further confidence-building measures; 5. Urges the Taliban and other Afghan parties to refrain from all acts of violence, especially against civilians; 6. Condemns the fact that foreign military support to the Afghan parties continued unabated through 1998, and calls upon all States strictly to refrain from any outside interference and immediately to end the supply of arms, ammunition, military equipment, training or any other military support to all parties to the conflict in Afghanistan, including the presence and involvement of any foreign military, paramilitary or secret service personnel; 7. Requests the Secretary-General to authorize the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan, established under resolution 48/208 of 21 December 1993, to continue its efforts to facilitate an immediate 3 A/53/695–S/1998/1109; see Official Records of the Security Council, Fifty-third Year, Supplement for October, November and December 1998, document S/1998/1109. /...