A/HRC/57/5 106. Access to essential medical care had been severely restricted due to prohibitions and restrictions on the employment of women in the health-care sector. That had further exacerbated the mental health crisis that was prevalent among women and girls, as indicated by the increasing rates of suicide and widespread psychological distress. Data from local non-governmental organizations indicated a surge in mental health issues, with some clinics reporting a 50 per cent increase in the number of patients, especially women and children, seeking mental health services. 107. The necessity for an autonomous investigative body to confront human rights violations in Afghanistan was more pressing than ever in the light of the prevailing circumstances. A mechanism of that nature would provide an essential forum for victims to seek redress and justice, thereby shedding light on the possibility of restoring peace and justice in Afghanistan. 108. In his closing remarks, the head of delegation, while thanking the Human Rights Council, its member States and the international community for their continued support to push for prevention and accountability, emphasized that no country should have to prepare their national report under the circumstances faced by Afghanistan. He affirmed that the people of Afghanistan were witnessing the systematic dismantling of their inherent and inalienable human rights and women were witnessing their erasure. However, no amount of repression and oppression could erase the resilience of the people of Afghanistan, especially the women and girls. They had lived long before the Taliban had existed and they would continue their national struggle of seeing Afghanistan free from the illegitimate military control of the Taliban. II. Conclusions and/or recommendations 109. The following recommendations will be examined by Afghanistan, which will provide responses in due time, but no later than the fifty-seventh session of the Human Rights Council: 109.1 Ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty (Croatia); 109.2 Ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty (Estonia); 109.3 Ratify the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (Mongolia); 109.4 Ratify the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Dominican Republic); 109.5 Comply with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by preventing violence and eliminating discrimination against women and girls, including with regard to the rights to education, work and freedom of movement (Republic of Korea); 109.6 Uphold the human rights obligations stemming from the international treaties to which Afghanistan is a State party, including the rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, to peaceful assembly and to education, and ensure that any law review complies with such obligations (Holy See); 109.7 Ensure the compliance of Afghanistan with international human rights obligations, codified in treaties, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Slovenia); 109.8 Fulfil its treaty obligations, particularly in the field of human rights (Qatar); 10 GE.24-09690