The situation in Afghanistan A/RES/70/77 42. Recalls Security Council resolutions 1674 (2006) of 28 April 2006, 1738 (2006) of 23 December 2006 and 1894 (2009) of 11 November 2009 and the midyear report of July 2015 on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, prepared by the Assistance Mission, expresses its serious concern at the continued high number of civilian casualties, including, in particular, women and children, and their impact on local communities, notes that the Taliban, including the Haqqani Network, Al-Qaida and other violent and extremist groups and illegal armed groups remain responsible for the significant majority of civilian casualties, reiterates its call for all feasible steps to be taken to protect civilians, and calls for additional appropriate steps in this regard and for full compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law; 43. Recognizes the efforts made to protect the civilian population and to minimize civilian casualties, and calls upon the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces and international forces to continue to make enhanced efforts in this regard, notably through the continuous review of tactics and procedures and the conduct of after-action reviews and investigations in cases in which civilian casualties have occurred and when the Government of Afghanistan finds these joint investigations appropriate; 44. Reiterates the importance of upholding international obligations for the advancement of women’s rights, as enshrined in the Afghan Constitution, in this context also reiterates the importance of implementing Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), welcomes the adoption by the Government of Afghanistan in June 2015 of its national action plan on women, peace and security, supports efforts towards its implementation, and recalls Council resolutions 1820 (2008) of 19 June 2008, 1888 (2009) of 30 September 2009, 1889 (2009) of 5 October 2009, 1960 (2010) of 16 December 2010, 2106 (2013) of 24 June 2013, 2122 (2013) and 2242 (2015) on women and peace and security; 45. Emphasizes its steadfast and unwavering commitment and that of the Government of Afghanistan to achieving the full and equal participation of women in all spheres of Afghan life, the need for absolute equality of women before the law, equal access to education and employment and the participation and empowerment of women in Afghan politics, public life, government administration and security sector at all levels, especially in leadership positions; 46. Commends the achievements and efforts of the Government of Afghanistan to counter discrimination and to mainstream gender issues, including into the national priority programmes, and to protect and promote the equal rights of women and men as guaranteed, inter alia, by its ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 11 and by the Afghan Constitution as well as the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan and the law on the elimination of violence against women, notes the progress reported by the Assistance Mission in the implementation of the law, stresses the importance of its full implementation, a key commitment under the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework, and underlines the need for continued progress on gender issues in accordance with the obligations of Afghanistan under international law; _______________ 11 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1249, No. 20378. 13/24