A/HRC/RES/42/36 7. Welcomes the 2019 joint communiqué signed between the United Nations and the Government of the Central African Republic with a view to addressing sexual violence committed in times of conflict, which establishes a number of important areas of cooperation: the fight against impunity through justice and accountability; a comprehensive survivor-centred approach to the provision of services; strengthening mechanisms for women’s effective and meaningful participation in decision-making processes; implementation of the Peace Agreement; and greater engagement of religious leaders in helping to prevent these crimes; 8. Urges all parties in the Central African Republic to protect all civilians, in particular women and children, against sexual and gender-based violence; 9. Calls upon the authorities of the Central African Republic to support the National Observatory for Gender Parity; 10. Encourages the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic to resolutely implement a proactive and robust approach to the protection of civilians, as enshrined in its mandate, and to lend the necessary assistance to the authorities of the Central African Republic so that the Special Criminal Court can begin its work without delay; 11. Encourages the United Nations and the countries contributing troops to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic and international forces acting under the mandate of the Security Council to take appropriate measures to ensure full respect for the zero-tolerance policy of the United Nations on sexual exploitation and abuse, and calls upon troop-contributing countries and international forces under the mandate of the Security Council to take appropriate measures to prevent any and all acts of sexual exploitation and abuse and to prevent impunity among their personnel in order to ensure justice for victims; 12. Calls upon the Central African authorities, with the support of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, to engage resolutely in the disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and repatriation, as appropriate, of national and foreign fighters, in line with a comprehensive strategy for security sector reform designed to quickly operationalize the cooperation structures they have put in place and to make proposals for disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and repatriation, and requests Member States and international organizations to provide the funding necessary for the disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and repatriation process, which is an essential contribution to the security of the population and the stabilization of the country; 13. Deplores the fact that children continue to be used by armed groups as combatants, human shields, domestic workers and sex slaves, as well as the increasing number of child abductions, urges armed groups to release children from their ranks and to put an end to and prevent the recruitment and use of children and early and forced marriages and, in this regard, calls on them to honour the commitments assumed by several of them on 6 February 2019; 14. Welcomes the ratification by the Central African Republic in 2017 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, encourages the continuing efforts of the Government to protect children through the adoption and effective implementation of legislation prohibiting the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict, and encourages the Government to consider ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure, and urges the Government to adopt a national plan for the protection of children; 15. Urges all parties to protect and to regard as victims those children who have been released or otherwise separated from the armed forces and armed groups, and emphasizes the need to protect, release and reintegrate all children associated with the armed forces and armed groups and to implement rehabilitation and reintegration programmes that take into account the specific needs of girls, in particular those that have been victims of violence; GE.19-16926 5