in any legally binding international agreement; 122. Emphasises the importance of the right to citizenship as one of the most fundamental rights, since in many countries only full citizens are granted the possibility fully to enjoy and exercise their basic human rights, including the rights to public security, wellbeing and education; 123. Emphasises that traditional national minorities have specific needs that differ from those of other minority groups, and there is a need to safeguard the equal treatment of these minorities with regard to education, healthcare, social services and other public services, and to promote, in all areas of economic, social, political and cultural life, the full and effective equality between persons belonging to a national minority and those belonging to the majority; Women and children in armed conflict situations 124. Appreciates the focused attention given to the challenge of the implementation of women, peace and security-related resolutions in the EU policies, as evidenced in the Report on the EU indicators for the Comprehensive Approach to the EU implementation of the UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 & 1820, adopted by the EU Council on 13 May 2011; welcomes the political action taken by the EU to ensure the prolonging of the mandate of the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative on children and armed conflict at the UN General Assembly; shares the view expressed in the Council conclusions of 1 December 2011 on Common Security and Defence Policy that continued and systematic attention to aspects relating to human rights, gender and children affected by armed conflict should be a key consideration in all phases of the CSDP missions; 125. Believes that, in order to ensure the effective participation of women where they are currently under-represented in political or civil society bodies, it is important to provide training and support modules, both for European staff dealing with gender issues and for the women on the ground, so as to enable them to make an effective contribution to the peace and conflict resolution processes; 126. Recognises that concrete progress in improving the situation of women and children in armed conflict situations is often dependent on achieving clear and unified accountability structures in military and security services under civilian control; urges, therefore, the relevant EU institutions to seek and implement more effective methods to carry out security sector reforms in conflict and post-conflict countries, with strong emphasis on women’s and children’s rights, inclusion and empowerment in that context; calls on the EEAS and the Commission to take this into account in the programming and implementation of external assistance instruments addressing security sector reform, including the importance of women’s empowerment in post-conflict reconstruction; 127. Calls for the disarmament, rehabilitation and reintegration of child soldiers as a core element in EU policies that aim at strengthening human rights, child protection and the replacement of violence with political conflict-resolution mechanisms; 128. Expresses its deep concern regarding the Great Lakes region of Africa, where rape is a weapon of warfare to eradicate whole population groups; Women’s rights