4. Welcomes the strong commitment of the Government of Afghanistan to further develop, with the support of ISAF nations, an ANSF which is governed by the Afghan Constitution and is capable of providing peace, security and stability to all Afghans operating under effective civilian leadership and in accordance with the rule of law, and respecting and promoting human rights, including the rights of women, and capable of contributing to the region's security through the stabilization of the situation in Afghanistan;
Acknowledging the progress made and the challenges remaining in security sector reform and governance, welcoming the continued commitment of international partners, including NATO and the European Union, to helping the ANSF and the Afghan security sector, welcoming support and assistance extended to the Afghan National Police by the NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan, the European Union police mission (EUPOL Afghanistan), and the European Gendarmerie Force (EGF) and, in the context of transition, welcoming the increased capacities and capabilities of the ANSF, stressing the need for Afghanistan together with international donors to further strengthen the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police, urging, inter alia, continued professional training measures to ensure Afghan capability to assume, in a sustainable manner, increasing responsibilities and leadership of security operations and maintaining public order, law enforcement, the security of Afghanistan's borders, the preservation of the constitutional rights of Afghan citizens, and the protection of the rights of Afghan women and girls as well as to increase its efforts in disbandment of illegal armed groups and counter narcotics, as outlined most recently in the Chicago Summit Joint Declaration and the Tokyo Declaration,
Expressing its serious concern with the high number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, in particular women and children, the increasingly large majority of which are caused by Taliban, Al-Qaida and other violent and extremist groups and illegal armed groups, condemning in the strongest terms the high number of attacks targeting schools, including their burning and forced closure, their use by armed groups, and the intimidation, abduction and killing of education personnel, particularly those attacks targeting girls' education by armed groups including the Taliban and welcoming, in this context, the listing of the Taliban in the annex of the report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict (S/2013/245) pursuant to Security Council resolution 1998 (2011), condemning also the increased targeted killing of women and girls, in particular high level female officials, reaffirming that all parties to armed conflict must take all feasible steps to ensure the protection of affected civilians, especially women, children and displaced persons, including from sexual violence and all other forms of gender based violence, calling for all parties to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law and for all appropriate measures to be taken to ensure the protection of civilians, and recognizing the importance of the ongoing monitoring and reporting to the United Nations Security Council, including by ISAF, of the situation of civilians and in particular civilian casualties, and noting in this regard the work of the ISAF Civilian Casualties Mitigation Team,
Recalling its resolutions 1265 (1999), 1296 (2000), 1674 (2006), 1738 (2006) and 1894 (2009) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, its resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010) and 2106 (2013) on women and peace and security, and its resolutions 1612 (2005), 1882 (2009),1998 (2011) and 2068 (2012) on children and armed conflict, noting as well the reports of the Secretary-General on sexual violence in conflict (S/2013/149) and children and armed conflict (S/2013/245) and the conclusions of its Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict (S/AC.51/2011/3),
Recalling that women play a vital role in the peace process, as recognized in Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and related resolutions, welcoming the commitment by the Government of Afghanistan to develop and implement Afghanistan's Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) National Action Plan and to identify further opportunities to support the participation of women in the Afghan-led peace and reconciliation process, the presentation by the Government of Afghanistan of its first progress report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and efforts to continue to accelerate full implementation of the National Action Plan for Women in Afghanistan, to integrate its benchmarks into the National Priority Programmes and to develop a strategy to implement fully the Elimination of Violence Against Women law,
Stressing in this context the importance of further progress by the Afghan Government in ending impunity and strengthening judicial institutions, in the reconstruction and reform of the prison sector, and the rule of law and respect for human rights within Afghanistan, including for women and girls, and in particular women's rights under the Constitution to fully participate in the political, economic and social spheres of Afghan life, and welcoming, in this regard, the National Police Plan and the objectives set therein for increased training in human rights, including gender issues, and increased recruitment of women, as well as continuing ISAF support for the ANSF towards increased recruitment, training and retention of women,
Taking note of the further progress made by ISAF and other international forces in minimizing the civilian casualties, as recognized in the 2013 midyear report by UNAMA on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, urging ISAF and other international forces to continue to undertake enhanced efforts to prevent civilian casualties, including the increased focus on protecting the Afghan population as a central element of the mission, and noting the importance of conducting continuous reviews of tactics and procedures and after-action reviews and investigations in cooperation with the Afghan Government in cases where civilian casualties have occurred and when the Afghan Government finds these joint investigations appropriate, as well as continuing cooperation with the ANSF towards the further institutionalization of protection of civilians, especially women and girls,
Welcoming the continuing efforts of the Afghan Government to advance the peace and reconciliation process, including by the High Peace Council and the implementation of the Afghanistan Peace and Reconciliation Programme, to promote an inclusive, Afghan-led dialogue on reconciliation and political participation as laid forth in the 20 July 2010 Kabul Conference Communiqué on dialogue for all those who renounce violence, have no links to international terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaida, respect the constitution, including its human rights provisions, notably the rights of women, and are willing to join in building a peaceful Afghanistan, and as further elaborated in the principles and outcomes of the 5 December 2011 Bonn Conference Conclusions supported by the Government of Afghanistan and the international community, with full respect for the implementation of measures and application of the procedures introduced by the Security Council in its resolutions 1267 (1999), 1988 (2011) and 2082 (2012) as well as other relevant resolutions of the Council, calling on all relevant states to remain engaged in the peace process, and recognizing the impact terrorist attacks have on the Afghan people and risk having on future prospects for a peace settlement,