A/RES/72/245 Rights of the child 30. Emphasizes that no child should be left behind and that States should pay particular attention to the protection of children who are marginalized or are in vulnerable situations or who face stigmatization, discrimination or exclusion and should ensure the enjoyment of all their human rights, without discrimination of any kind; 31. Urges all States to strengthen international cooperation and mutual assistance to prevent and protect children from all forms of violence and to end impunity for crimes against children; 32. Encourages States to consider accession to or ratification of The Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Cooperation in respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children, of 19 October 1996; 42 33. Recalls the importance of actively engaging with children and respecting their views in all aspects of prevention, response and monitoring of violence against them, taking into account article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; 34. Expresses its concern about situations of violence in communities worldwide, including violence linked to illegal arms trade, organized crime, drug related crime and gang-related violence, putting the well-being and security of children at severe risk; 35. Recognizes that there has been significant progress at the international, regional and national levels in addressing violence against children since the submission of the United Nations study on violence against children, and calls upon all States to maintain and enhance their efforts to protect children from all forms of violence, in particular: (a) To take effective and appropriate legislative and other measures to prohibit, prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against children in all settings, including harmful practices in all situations, and to strengthen international, national and local cooperation and mutual assistance in this regard; (b) To respect fully the rights, human dignity and physical integrity of children and to prevent and address any psychological, mental, physical or sexual violence or any other humiliating or degrading treatment or punishment; (c) To give priority attention to the prevention of all forms of violence against children and to addressing its underlying causes and its gender dimension through a systematic, comprehensive and multifaceted approach, recognizing that witnessing violence, including domestic violence, also causes harm to children; (d) To develop a well-coordinated and well-resourced national strategy for the prevention and elimination of all forms of violence against children, including measures aimed at, inter alia, raising awareness, building the capacity of professionals working with and for children, supporting effective parenting programmes, fost ering research, collecting data on the incidence of violence against children and developing and implementing appropriate national monitoring tools to periodically assess progress; (e) To end impunity for perpetrators of crimes against children, to undert ake thorough and prompt investigations of all acts of violence against children and to prosecute such acts of violence and impose appropriate penalties, recognizing that persons convicted of violent offences against children, including sexual abuse, who __________________ 42 10/15 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2204, No. 39130. 17-23328