A/RES/61/18 gender issues and to protect and promote the equal rights of women and men as guaranteed, inter alia, by virtue of its ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 10 and by the Afghan Constitution, welcomes the level of participation of Afghan women in the parliamentary and provincial council elections, including the election of female candidates to these bodies, and reiterates the continued importance of the full and equal participation of women in all spheres of Afghan life; 22. Welcomes the presentation of the interim national action plan for women in Afghanistan currently under consultation and the significant efforts by the Government of Afghanistan to counter discrimination, urges the Government to actively involve all elements of Afghan society, in particular women, in the development and implementation of relief, rehabilitation, recovery and reconstruction programmes, and encourages the collection and use of statistical data on a sexdisaggregated basis to provide information on gender-based violence and accurately track the progress of the full integration of women into the political, economic and social life of Afghanistan; 23. Recognizes the significant progress achieved on gender equality in Afghanistan in recent years, and strongly condemns incidents of discrimination and violence against women in Afghanistan, wherever they occur; 24. Welcomes the initiative of the Government of Afghanistan to formulate a national plan of action on combating child trafficking, encourages the Government to formulate the plan of action guided by the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 11 and stresses the importance of considering becoming a party to the Protocol; 25. Urges the Government of Afghanistan to continue to effectively reform the public administration sector in order to implement the rule of law and to ensure good governance and accountability at both national and local levels, and stresses the importance of meeting the respective benchmarks of the Afghanistan Compact, with the support of the international community; 26. Encourages the Government of Afghanistan to vigorously pursue its efforts to establish a more effective, accountable and transparent administration at all levels of Government leading the fight against corruption in accordance with the Afghanistan Compact, and notes with concern the effects of administrative corruption with regard to security, good governance and combating the narcotics industry; 27. Stresses once again the need for further progress on a comprehensive judicial reform in Afghanistan, and urges the Government of Afghanistan and the international community to devote resources also to the reconstruction and reform of the prison sector in order to improve respect for the rule of law and human rights therein, while reducing physical and mental health risks to inmates; 28. Urges the Government of Afghanistan to address, with the assistance of the international community, the question of claims for land property through a comprehensive land titling programme, including formal registration of all property and improved security of property rights, and welcomes the steps already taken by the Government in this regard; _______________ 10 11 Ibid., vol. 1249, No. 20378. Resolution 55/25, annex II. 7

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