Intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women A/RES/67/144 against women 21 and 20/12 of 5 July 2012 on accelerating efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women: remedies for women who have been subjected to violence,21 Recalling the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, 22 including the responsibility of business enterprises to respect human rights, bearing in mind the different risks that may be faced by women and men, Recognizing the importance of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and its role in leading, coordinating and promoting the accountability of the United Nations system in its work on gender equality and the empowerment of women, Expressing its appreciation for the efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls and the high number of activities undertaken by the United Nations bodies, entities, funds and programmes and the specialized agencies, including by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, Deeply concerned about the pervasiveness of violence against women and girls in all its different forms and manifestations worldwide, and reiterating the need to intensify efforts to prevent all forms of violence against women and girls throughout the world and to re-emphasize that violence against women and girls is unacceptable, Recognizing that violence against women and girls is rooted in historical and structural inequality in power relations between men and women and that all forms of violence against women seriously violate and impair or nullify the enjoyment by women and girls of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and constitute a major impediment to the ability of women to make use of their capabilities, Recognizing also that women’s poverty and lack of empowerment, as well as their marginalization resulting from their exclusion from social policies and from the benefits of education and sustainable development, can place them at increased risk of violence, and that violence against women impedes the social and economic development of communities and States, as well as the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, Acknowledging the need to address violence against women and girls holistically, including through the recognition of linkages between violence against women and girls and other issues, such as HIV/AIDS, poverty eradication, food security, peace and security, humanitarian assistance, education, health and crime prevention, Acknowledging also that trafficking in persons is one of the forms of transnational organized crime which exposes women to violence and that concerted efforts are needed to combat it, and in this regard stressing that full and effective _______________ 21 22 Ibid., Sixty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 53 and corrigendum (A/67/53 and Corr.1), chap. IV, sect. A. A/HRC/17/31, annex. 3/11