A/RES/70/77 The situation in Afghanistan 47. Strongly condemns all incidents of discrimination and violence against women and girls and other forms of gender-based and sexual violence, including “honour killings”, underscores the importance of countering impunity for these incidents, especially against women activists and women prominent in public life, takes note of the important progress made by the Government of Afghanistan in this regard, reiterates its strong commitment to support the efforts of the Government of Afghanistan to continue to address this issue, and also reiterates its appreciation for all measures taken to address targeted violence against women, including preventi on of forced marriages, as well as the contribution of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN -Women); 48. Stresses the need to ensure respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of children in Afghanistan, and recalls the need for the full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 12 its Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child porno graphy 13 and its Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict 14 by all States parties, as well as of Security Council resolution 1612 (2005) of 26 July 2005, and all other subsequent resolutions on children and armed conflict, and takes note of the reports of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in Afghanistan 15 and the conclusions of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict in Afghanistan; 16 49. Expresses its strong concern, in this regard, about the ongoing recruitment and use of children by the Taliban, including the Haqqani Network, and other illegal armed groups and terrorist groups in Afghanistan, as well as the killing and maiming of children as a result of the conflict, stresses in this rega rd the importance of ending the recruitment and use of children in violation of applicable international law and all other violations and abuses committed against children, expresses appreciation for the progress made by and the firm commitment of the Government of Afghanistan to the protection of children, including its strong condemnation of any exploitation of children, as indicated by the establishment of the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Children, the appointment of a focal point on child protection, the signing by the Government, in January 2011, of an action plan, including the annexes thereto, on children associated with national security forces in Afghanistan and the endorsement by the Government of a road map in August 2014 to accelerate compliance with the action plan, welcomes progress made in the implementation of the action plan, and reiterates the calls for the full implementation of its provisions, in close cooperation with the Assistance Mission; 50. Recognizes the special needs of girls, strongly condemns continued terrorist attacks as well as threats of attacks on educational facilities, especially on those for Afghan girls, and/or hospitals and protected persons in relation to them in Afghanistan, in contravention of applicable international law, and expresses deep concern about the high number of school closures as a result of terrorist attacks or threats of attacks; _______________ 12 Ibid., vol. 1577, No. 27531. Ibid., vol. 2171, No. 27531. 14 Ibid., vol. 2173, No. 27531. 15 A/68/878-S/2014/339, paras. 23–32, and S/2015/336. 16 S/AC.51/2011/3. 13 14/24