Pattern of conferences
Report of the Secretary-General
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Summary In its resolution 61/236, the General Assembly addressed a number of requests to the Secretary-General on issues relating to conference management and reform of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management. In response to those requests, the present report covers integrated global management, meetings management, proactive document management, publishing and translation- and interpretation-related matters. It proposes a comprehensive methodology for performance measurement and management of language staff and describes steps taken to address succession planning. The report also provides an update on the impact on meetings to be held at Headquarters during the implementation of the capital master plan and the initial results of prior proposals on the servicing of regional and other major groupings of Member States. |
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*A/62/150.
I. Introduction
1. The year 2007 marks the sixth year of the reform process of the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management, and the Department remains as committed as ever to excellence in the delivery of its products and services and in client satisfaction. The Department’s activities described in the present report were aimed at fulfilling the Secretary-General’s vision and the underlying strategy of the United Nations reform initiative (see A/61/255) to create an independent international civil service with the highest standards of performance and accountability, working across disciplines to fulfil the Organization’s complex and interrelated mandates in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
2. In this pursuit of excellence, the Department keeps a vigilant eye on the cost-effectiveness of its operations within the constraints imposed by the inherent unpredictability of a sizeable proportion of the services it is called upon to provide in support of the intergovernmental process, while at the same time grappling with the added problems created by the demographic transition that is occurring in key areas of the Department resulting from a large number of retirements, which will amount to some 25 per cent of total language staff in the five-year period from 2007 to 2011.
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IV. Meetings management
A. Calendar of conferences and meetings
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1. Requests to meet during the regular session of the General Assembly
(exceptions to sect. I, para. 7, of General Assembly resolution 40/243)
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21. Annex III to the present report contains the requests received to date from subsidiary organs of the General Assembly to meet at Headquarters during the sixty-second session of the Assembly, as well as relevant statistical information on the sixty-first session of the Assembly. Requests received later will be issued in an addendum.
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Annex III
Requests for meetings during the sixty-second session
of the General Assembly and statistical information
A. Requests for meetings
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2. Working Group on the Financing of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
Memorandum dated 8 June 2007 from the Secretary of the Working Group
In its resolution 61/114, paragraph 3, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to provide the necessary services and assistance to the Working Group for the conduct of its work to ensure the financial security of the Agency.
In order to fulfil its mandate, the Working Group needs the latest data with regard to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) budget, i.e. up-to-date information on the current budget and precise indications as to the needed revenue and the anticipated contributions for the next fiscal year. Due to its budgetary procedure, UNRWA is not in a position to supply the Working Group with this timely information any earlier than late September 2007 and the Working Group cannot prepare its report to the sixty-second session without this important material.
In view of the above-mentioned, it would be very much appreciated if you could draw to the attention of the Committee on Conferences the request of the Working Group that it be authorized to meet during the first weeks of the sixty-second session of the General Assembly.
3. Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People
Letter dated 7 June 2007 from the Chairman of the Committee
As you are aware, the General Assembly, by its resolution 61/22 of 1 December 2006, has again requested the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, “to continue to keep under review the situation relating to the question of Palestine and to report and make suggestions to the General Assembly, the Security Council or the Secretary-General, as appropriate”. By the same resolution, the Assembly requested the Secretary-General “to continue to provide the Committee with all necessary facilities for the performance of its tasks”.
As the Committee has no control over the timing of the events it is called upon to discuss, it needs to meet throughout the year, as circumstances require. Based on past experience, the Committee would request facilities for approximately three meetings per General Assembly session. These are in addition to the solemn meeting in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which is included in each year’s calendar.
With regard to the documentation submitted to the General Assembly, please be advised that the Committee submits its annual report (supplement No. 35) under the agenda item entitled “Question of Palestine”. The Committee usually adopts its report in early October of each year, at which point it is submitted for processing.
In light of the above, I should like to request that authorization again be granted to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to hold meetings during the forthcoming sixty-second session of the General Assembly, as necessary for carrying out the important mandate entrusted to the Committee by the Assembly.
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Document symbol: A/62/161
Document Type: Report
Document Sources: Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP), General Assembly, Secretary-General, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Subject: Inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, Refugees and displaced persons
Publication Date: 27/07/2007
Document Type: Report
Document Sources: Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP), General Assembly, Secretary-General, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Subject: Inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, Refugees and displaced persons
Publication Date: 27/07/2007