In our development projects, Estonia pays extra attention to promoting women'...

In our development projects, Estonia pays extra attention to promoting women's rights and the well-being of children, as they are the most vulnerable groups. We believe that traditions or beliefs should never be used as a pretext for gender inequality and non-recognition of women's rights. At the recent session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the Estonian Foreign Minister, Mr. Urmas Paet, strongly condemned all kinds of violence against women and girls. We hope that the adoption of the agreed conclusions of the Commission will give further impetus to combating violence against women and girls in Afghanistan. Estonia calls for the effective and swift implementation of the action plan for the prevention of underage recruitment and its annexes on killing and maiming and sexual violence against children.