A/RES/61/18 29. Welcomes the presentation of the interim Afghanistan National Development Strategy at the London Conference on Afghanistan,4 underlines the need to finalize the Strategy as soon as possible, and urges the international community actively to support this process; 30. Reiterates the necessity of providing Afghan children with educational and health facilities in all parts of the country, recognizing the special needs of girls, strongly condemns terrorist attacks on education facilities, and encourages the Government of Afghanistan, with the assistance of the international community, to expand these facilities, to train professional staff and to promote full and equal access to them by all members of Afghan society, including in remote areas; 31. Expresses its appreciation to those Governments that continue to host Afghan refugees, acknowledging the huge burden they have so far shouldered in this regard, and reminds them of their obligations under international refugee law with respect to the protection of refugees, the principle of voluntary return and the right to seek asylum and to allow international access for their protection and care; 32. Urges the Government of Afghanistan, acting with the support of the international community, to continue and strengthen its efforts to create the conditions for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return and reintegration of the remaining Afghan refugees and internally displaced persons; 33. Calls for the provision of continued international assistance to the large numbers of Afghan refugees and internally displaced persons to facilitate their voluntary, safe and orderly return and sustainable reintegration into society so as to contribute to the stability of the entire country; 34. Welcomes the efforts to date of the Afghan authorities to carry out the updated National Drug Control Strategy presented at the London Conference on Afghanistan on 31 January 2006,5 and urges the Government of Afghanistan to take decisive action, in particular to stop the processing of and trade in drugs, by pursuing the concrete steps set out in the Strategy and in the Afghanistan Compact; 35. Calls upon the international community to assist the Government of Afghanistan in carrying out its National Drug Control Strategy, aimed at eliminating the cultivation, production, trafficking in and consumption of illicit drugs, including through increased support for Afghan law enforcement and criminal justice agencies, rural development, demand reduction, the elimination of illicit crops, increasing public awareness and building the capacity of drug control institutions; 36. Expresses concern about the recent increase in the cultivation of opium, notes that opium cultivation, and the related drug production and trafficking, pose a serious threat to security, the rule of law and development in Afghanistan, urges the Government of Afghanistan, supported by the international community, to work to mainstream counter-narcotics throughout all the national programmes, commends the efforts of the Government in this regard, and urges it to increase its efforts against opium cultivation; 37. Encourages the international community to increasingly channel counternarcotics funding through the Government of Afghanistan’s counter-narcotics trust fund; 38. Urges the Government of Afghanistan, while carrying out its National Drug Control Strategy, to promote the development of sustainable livelihoods in the formal production sector as well as other sectors, thus improving substantially the lives, health and security of the people, particularly in rural areas, and calls upon the 8