Note by the Secretariat--Follow-up to Economic and Social Council resolutions and decisions

E/CN.6/2000/5
Distr.: General
16 February 2000
Original: English

Commission on the Status of Women
Forty-fourth session
28 February-2 March 2000
Item 5 of the provisional agenda*
Follow-up to Economic and Social Council
resolutions and decisions

Follow-up to Economic and Social Council resolutions and decisions

Note by the Secretariat

Summary

The present note contains a summary of recommendations addressed by the Economic and Social Council to its functional commissions, in particular the Commission on the Status of Women. It also contains a summary of actions already taken by the Commission on the Status of Women to implement those recommendations, as well as suggested recommendations for further action which the Commission may wish to take, or which it may wish to address to the Council.

Contents

Paragraphs Page

Introduction 1 2

Background 2–5 2

Follow-up action by the Commission on the Status of Women to resolutions and decisions adopted by the Economic and Social Council 6 2

I. Introduction

1. At the recommendation of the Commission on the Status of Women at its forty-third session, the Economic and Social Council approved the Commission's provisional agenda for its forty-fourth session, which included, for the first time, a new item entitled "Follow-up to Economic and Social Council resolutions and decisions" (item 5). The President of the Council, in a letter dated 1 November 1999 addressed to the Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women (E/CN.6/2000/7), drew to the Chairperson’s attention the outcome of the Council’s substantive session of 1999 requiring specific follow-up by the Commission on the Status of Women. Attention was drawn to policy recommendations contained in Council resolutions 1999/35, 1999/51 and 1999/55, as well as the ministerial communiqué of the high-level segment of the Council. The President invited the Chairperson to bring these to the attention of the Commission and to take the necessary action to implement them. The present note has been prepared to facilitate the Commission’s deliberations under item 5.

II. Background

2. Over the last several years, the Economic and Social Council has continued implementation of General Assembly resolutions 50/227 and 52/12 B (item 8 on the Council’s agenda) to strengthen its coordination and oversight roles vis-à-vis its subsidiary bodies. Under this item, the Council has adopted resolutions on restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields and cooperation between the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions. The Council has also continued its efforts concerning integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits (item 6 on the Council’s agenda). Under both items, the Council has addressed specific guidance to its functional commissions.

3. In 1998, the Council expressed its appreciation to the functional commissions for the interest they had taken in reviewing their working methods, and encouraged them to continue to do so and to adopt practices best suited to the commissions’ mandates and responsibilities. The Council provided general suggestions and recommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the functional commissions (Council resolution 1998/46). These covered working methods, the role of the Bureau, participation, documentation, outcome/reporting, relations with the Economic and Social Council, interrelationship between functional commissions, and relations with the regional commissions and other relevant regional bodies. In a resolution adopted in 1999 (Council resolution 1999/51), the Council invited the functional commissions to implement, where they had not yet done so, relevant provisions of resolution 1998/46, and made further recommendations for follow-up by functional commissions.

4. In its resolution 1999/55, the Council urged its functional commissions to enhance coordination and complementarity among the five-year reviews. The Council decided to review follow-up by the functional commissions of decisions and recommendations of the Council addressed to them. It invited the commissions to discuss follow-up to the Council’s outcomes under a specific agenda item at their sessions.

5. In its resolution 1999/35 on the implementation of its agreed conclusions 1998/2 on the coordinated follow-up to and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, the Council welcomed the efforts undertaken, inter alia, by the relevant components of the United Nations system towards the implementation of the agreed conclusions. It decided to take their implementation into account as part of the overall review by the Economic and Social Council in 2000 of progress made in the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits.

III. Follow-up action by the Commission on the Status of Women to resolutions and decisions of the Economic and Social Council

6. The table below juxtaposes recommendations of the Economic and Social Council addressed to all functional commissions or directly to the Commission on the Status of Women in the left-hand column. Actions already taken by the Commission or expected to be taken at its forty-fourth session as part of its multi-year programme of work are reflected in the right-hand column. As appropriate, the summary is followed by recommendations for possible further action by the Commission or that the Commission may wish to consider addressing the Council.

Council resolution 1999/51, "Restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields and cooperation between the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions"

Council resolution 1999/51 Action taken by the Commission/
recommendations for further action

Operative paras. 3 and 4: "Welcomes ... joint bureau meetings ... of its bureau with the chairpersons of the functional commissions ..." A joint meeting of the bureau of the Council with the bureau of the Commission on the Status of Women took place on 3 March 1999 (see E/1999/108). Plans are now under way for the bureau of the Council to meet with the new bureau of the Commission on the Status of Women, to be elected on 28 February 2000.

Operative para. 5: "Invites the bureaux of the functional commissions to develop interaction among themselves to improve collaboration and coordination on issues that are addressed by two or more functional commissions ..."
Operative para. 22: "... and encourages further strengthening and intensification of collaboration among and between the secretariats of the functional commissions; such collaboration can be in the form of, inter alia, preparing joint reports on linked issues, systematic exchange of relevant information and documentation and participation in relevant activities, where feasible and appropriate;"
Since 1998, the Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women has annually participated in the work of the Commission on Human Rights and addressed that Commission. Results of the Commission on the Status of Women of particular relevance to the work of the Commission on Human Rights, such as the agreed conclusions adopted by the Commission on the Status of Women in 1998 on human rights of women, women and armed conflict, violence against women and the girl child, have been transmitted by the Chairperson of the Commission of the Status of Women to the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights by letter, with an invitation to bring them to the attention of that Commission. A video-conference between the bureaux of the two Commissions took place on 17 November 1999. Issues discussed included participation of chairpersons in respective sessions of the commissions, exchange of documentation, joint reports between the secretariats servicing the two commissions, complementarity between agendas and working methods of the respective commissions. Since 1996, a joint work plan has been prepared between the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and submitted to both Commissions (see E/CN.6/2000/8-E/CN.4/2000/118 for the joint work plan for 2000). A joint report on women’s full enjoyment of their economic and social rights was prepared in 1998 (E/CN.6/1998/11-E/CN.6/1998/22). Reports prepared for the General Assembly under the item for the advancement of women on violence against women migrant workers have also been made available to the Commission on Human Rights. The secretariat of the Commission on the Status of Women cooperates actively with the secretariat of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, especially in the areas of trafficking in persons and violence against women.
Recommendations

The Commission on the Status of Women may wish to continue its practice of cooperating with the Commission on Human Rights, including through participation of chairpersons in sessions of respective commissions and joint bureaux meetings. The Commission may also wish to increase its cooperation with other commissions, in particular the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. The Commission may wish to request the continued preparation of the joint work plan between the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as preparation of joint reports, where appropriate, between the two secretariats. The Commission could also request that its secretariat prepare an assessment of current cooperation with the Centre for International Crime Prevention of the United Nations Secretariat, and make recommendations for further strengthening such cooperation in areas of particular relevance to the work of the Commission.

Operative para. 6: "Invites the functional commissions to implement, where they have not yet done so, relevant provisions of its resolution 1998/46, in particular as it relates to the adoption of multi-year programmes of work and to the coordinated follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits ... " The Commission on the Status of Women adopted a multi-year work programme for the first time in 1987 (Council resolution 1987/24). In 1996, following the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a multi-year work programme for 1996 to 2000 was adopted and subsequently implemented by the Commission (Council resolution 1996/6). At its forty-fourth session, the Commission is expected to adopt its provisional agenda for 2001.
Recommendations

Following the special session of the General Assembly in June 2000, the Commission may wish to prepare, at its forty-fifth session, a new multi-year work programme for the years 2002 to 2005, taking into account the outcome of the special session as well as the results of the Council’s review, in the year 2000, of integrated and coordinated follow-up to all United Nations conferences and summits.

With regard to coordinated follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits, the Commission’s agreed conclusions on women and health served as input into the work of the Commission on Population and Development in its capacity as preparatory body for the special session to review progress made in the implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development. At the coordination segment of its substantive session of 1997, the Council considered the mainstreaming of a gender perspective into all policies and programmes. Agreed conclusions 1997/2 of the Council, which emanated from that segment, have been implemented through action at the intergovernmental level as well as by the entities of the United Nations system. In those agreed conclusions, the Council decided to monitor annually the way in which its functional commissions and subsidiary bodies mainstream a gender perspective on the basis of the report on the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women. Such a report has been submitted annually to the Council (see, for example, E/1999/53).
Recommendations

The Commission may wish to invite the Council, in its coordination segment of 2000, to give priority to assessing progress made in the implementation of the agreed conclusion 1997/2, and to identify remaining obstacles and challenges in the mainstreaming of a gender perspective.

The Commission has continued to hold inter-sessional informal consultations in preparation for its annual sessions. Discussions have included the Commission’s organization, as well as methods of work, in accordance with the Commission’s agreed conclusions 1996/1 on its methods of work.
Recommendations

The Commission may wish to request its secretariat to prepare a report, for submission to the Commission at its fifty-fifth session, containing options for improving the Commission’s inter-sessional preparations as well as its in-session methods of work, based on the experience gained since 1996 and including an overview of the Commission’s working methods over the past four years. Such a report could serve as a basis for the Commission’s preparation of its next multi-year work programme and future methods of work. The report could also provide information about the working methods of other functional commissions (see also below, action taken under operative para. 9) and provide options for further implementation of Council resolution 1998/46, annex II.

Operative para. 8: "Encourages the functional commissions, in formulating the titles of the items in their programmes of work, to provide, where appropriate, an explicit indication of linkages of their planned activities with those of other commissions and/or with major planned United Nations events, and also encourages the functional commissions, assisted by their secretariats, to enhance coordination and collaboration at the programme planning and formulation stage;" The Commission will have before it the narrative concerning the advancement of women for the next medium-term plan. The Commission will be called upon to review, comment and make recommendations on this narrative from a policy perspective. The Commission’s comments serve as input into the work of the Committee for Programme and Coordination.
Recommendations

When preparing its provisional agenda for 2001, the Commission may wish to indicate linkages to planned activities of other commissions. The Commission may also wish to implement that Council recommendation in 2001, when it elaborates its new multi-year work programme.

The Commission may wish to identify where linkages between its own work and that of other functional commissions could most usefully be established. Such linkages could be identified in conjunction with the narrative of the medium-term plan. They could also be identified in the narrative of the next biennial programme budget (2002-2003), which will be before the Commission in 2001. Based on the Commission’s past experience and practice, such linkages could, as a first step, be identified between the Commission on the Status of Women, the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice with regard to the mainstreaming of a gender perspective, as well as with regard to violence against women, including against women migrant workers and traditional practices affecting the health of women and girls.

Operative para. 9: "Invites the functional commissions, in designing their multi-year programmes of work, to take fully into account the multi-year programmes of work of other functional commissions to ensure complementarity between them;" Recommendations
The Commission may wish to request its secretariat to provide the Commission, at its forty-fifth session, when it is expected to elaborate its new multi-year work programme, with the multi-year work programmes of other functional commissions, and with recommendations on how to ensure complementarity between those programmes and the Commission’s programme. The Commission may also wish to request its secretariat to provide an overview of the working methods of other commissions, including inter-sessional activities, to facilitate the Commission’s consideration of its own future working methods and cooperation with other commissions (see also above, action taken under operative para. 6).

Operative para. 12: "Stresses the importance of ensuring continuity on the bureaux of the functional commissions, and, therefore, invites the functional commissions to consider re-electing at least one member of the outgoing bureau to the incoming bureau, without prejudice to the rules of procedures of the functional commissions of the Council regarding the election of the bureau;" The Commission on the Status of Women elects its bureau for two-year terms. It will be called upon to elect a new bureau at the beginning of its forty-fourth session, on 28 February 2000.

Operative para. 21: "Invites the functional commissions to continue to give particular attention to the situation of African countries and the least developed countries in their consideration of relevant issues, especially in view of the upcoming Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in 2001 and the review of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s in 2002;" Recommendations
The Commission may wish to reflect this recommendation in its multi-year work programme for 2002-2005.

Operative para. 23: "Requests the functional commissions to report to the Council on the follow-up actions to the present resolution at its substantive session of 2000;" Recommendations
The Commission may wish to inform the Council of steps taken in accordance with Council resolution 1999/51.

Council resolution 1999/55, "Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits"

Council resolution 1999/55 Action taken by the Commission/
recommendations for further action

Operative para. 3: "... encourages the bureaux of the preparatory committees for the forthcoming five-year reviews of the Fourth World Conference on Women and of the World Summit for Social Development to consult with one another to avoid duplication and ensure cross-fertilization of ideas;" A joint meeting of the bureaux of the two preparatory committees had been planned for mid-October 1999 but was postponed because of the work of the General Assembly; efforts continue to schedule a meeting.

Operative para. 5: "... calls for further cooperation between the functional commissions and the rest of the United Nations system in order to complement United Nations conferences and summits in a coherent way and recalls in this context that adoption of multi-year thematic programmes for the functional commissions responsible for follow-up to major conferences can be helpful;" (See above, action taken under operative para. 6 of Council resolution 1999/51)

Operative para. 6: "Encourages the functional commissions, in their outcomes, to identify more clearly actions that require a coordinated United Nations system-wide response as well as to highlight recommendations specifically addressed to organizations of the United Nations system and to identify areas in which the Council could provide guidance to the programmes, funds and agencies regarding the decisions and recommendations of the functional commissions addressed to them;" A system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women has served for several years as an indicative planning instrument for the entities of the United Nations system to ensure comprehensive support for the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies and more recently the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The current medium-term plan for 1996-2000 was endorsed by the Economic and Social Council in 1996, based on extensive comments adopted thereon by the Commission on the Status of Women. A mid-term review of the implementation of the plan was undertaken by the Council, through the Commission, in 1998. The Commission has before it at its forty-fourth session the final assessment of the implementation of the plan. A new plan for the years 2002-2005 will be prepared following the special session.
Recommendations

Based on the assessment report, the Commission may wish to provide guidance to the United Nations system on the approach for the preparation of the new plan for 2002-2005.

The Commission, in its agreed conclusions on accelerated implementation of the 12 critical areas of concern, has regularly identified actions to be taken by the United Nations system.

The Commission has not yet identified areas in which the Council could provide guidance to the programmes, funds and agencies regarding the decisions and recommendations of the Commission on the Status of Women addressed to them.

Operative para. 11: "Decides to review the follow-up by the functional commissions of the decisions and recommendations of the Council addressed to them and invites the commissions to discuss follow-up to the Council’s outcomes under a specific agenda item at their sessions;" In the draft provisional agenda for its forty-fourth session submitted to the Council for approval, the Commission included an item entitled "Follow-up to Council resolutions and decisions".
Recommendation

The Commission may wish to inform the Council of steps taken and any additional action it intends to take to implement the guidance provided by the Council in its resolutions adopted in 1998 and 1999.

	Paragraphs	Page
Introduction	1	2
Background	2–5	2
Follow-up action by the Commission on the Status of Women to resolutions and decisions adopted by the Economic and Social Council	6	2

Council resolution 1999/51		Action taken by the Commission/ recommendations for further action

Operative paras. 3 and 4: "Welcomes ... joint bureau meetings ... of its bureau with the chairpersons of the functional commissions ..."		A joint meeting of the bureau of the Council with the bureau of the Commission on the Status of Women took place on 3 March 1999 (see E/1999/108). Plans are now under way for the bureau of the Council to meet with the new bureau of the Commission on the Status of Women, to be elected on 28 February 2000.
Operative para. 5: "Invites the bureaux of the functional commissions to develop interaction among themselves to improve collaboration and coordination on issues that are addressed by two or more functional commissions ..." Operative para. 22: "... and encourages further strengthening and intensification of collaboration among and between the secretariats of the functional commissions; such collaboration can be in the form of, inter alia, preparing joint reports on linked issues, systematic exchange of relevant information and documentation and participation in relevant activities, where feasible and appropriate;"		Since 1998, the Chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women has annually participated in the work of the Commission on Human Rights and addressed that Commission. Results of the Commission on the Status of Women of particular relevance to the work of the Commission on Human Rights, such as the agreed conclusions adopted by the Commission on the Status of Women in 1998 on human rights of women, women and armed conflict, violence against women and the girl child, have been transmitted by the Chairperson of the Commission of the Status of Women to the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights by letter, with an invitation to bring them to the attention of that Commission. A video-conference between the bureaux of the two Commissions took place on 17 November 1999. Issues discussed included participation of chairpersons in respective sessions of the commissions, exchange of documentation, joint reports between the secretariats servicing the two commissions, complementarity between agendas and working methods of the respective commissions. Since 1996, a joint work plan has been prepared between the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and submitted to both Commissions (see E/CN.6/2000/8-E/CN.4/2000/118 for the joint work plan for 2000). A joint report on women’s full enjoyment of their economic and social rights was prepared in 1998 (E/CN.6/1998/11-E/CN.6/1998/22). Reports prepared for the General Assembly under the item for the advancement of women on violence against women migrant workers have also been made available to the Commission on Human Rights. The secretariat of the Commission on the Status of Women cooperates actively with the secretariat of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, especially in the areas of trafficking in persons and violence against women. Recommendations The Commission on the Status of Women may wish to continue its practice of cooperating with the Commission on Human Rights, including through participation of chairpersons in sessions of respective commissions and joint bureaux meetings. The Commission may also wish to increase its cooperation with other commissions, in particular the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. The Commission may wish to request the continued preparation of the joint work plan between the Division for the Advancement of Women and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as preparation of joint reports, where appropriate, between the two secretariats. The Commission could also request that its secretariat prepare an assessment of current cooperation with the Centre for International Crime Prevention of the United Nations Secretariat, and make recommendations for further strengthening such cooperation in areas of particular relevance to the work of the Commission.
Operative para. 6: "Invites the functional commissions to implement, where they have not yet done so, relevant provisions of its resolution 1998/46, in particular as it relates to the adoption of multi-year programmes of work and to the coordinated follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits ... "		The Commission on the Status of Women adopted a multi-year work programme for the first time in 1987 (Council resolution 1987/24). In 1996, following the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a multi-year work programme for 1996 to 2000 was adopted and subsequently implemented by the Commission (Council resolution 1996/6). At its forty-fourth session, the Commission is expected to adopt its provisional agenda for 2001. Recommendations Following the special session of the General Assembly in June 2000, the Commission may wish to prepare, at its forty-fifth session, a new multi-year work programme for the years 2002 to 2005, taking into account the outcome of the special session as well as the results of the Council’s review, in the year 2000, of integrated and coordinated follow-up to all United Nations conferences and summits.
		With regard to coordinated follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits, the Commission’s agreed conclusions on women and health served as input into the work of the Commission on Population and Development in its capacity as preparatory body for the special session to review progress made in the implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development. At the coordination segment of its substantive session of 1997, the Council considered the mainstreaming of a gender perspective into all policies and programmes. Agreed conclusions 1997/2 of the Council, which emanated from that segment, have been implemented through action at the intergovernmental level as well as by the entities of the United Nations system. In those agreed conclusions, the Council decided to monitor annually the way in which its functional commissions and subsidiary bodies mainstream a gender perspective on the basis of the report on the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women. Such a report has been submitted annually to the Council (see, for example, E/1999/53). Recommendations The Commission may wish to invite the Council, in its coordination segment of 2000, to give priority to assessing progress made in the implementation of the agreed conclusion 1997/2, and to identify remaining obstacles and challenges in the mainstreaming of a gender perspective. The Commission has continued to hold inter-sessional informal consultations in preparation for its annual sessions. Discussions have included the Commission’s organization, as well as methods of work, in accordance with the Commission’s agreed conclusions 1996/1 on its methods of work. Recommendations The Commission may wish to request its secretariat to prepare a report, for submission to the Commission at its fifty-fifth session, containing options for improving the Commission’s inter-sessional preparations as well as its in-session methods of work, based on the experience gained since 1996 and including an overview of the Commission’s working methods over the past four years. Such a report could serve as a basis for the Commission’s preparation of its next multi-year work programme and future methods of work. The report could also provide information about the working methods of other functional commissions (see also below, action taken under operative para. 9) and provide options for further implementation of Council resolution 1998/46, annex II.
Operative para. 8: "Encourages the functional commissions, in formulating the titles of the items in their programmes of work, to provide, where appropriate, an explicit indication of linkages of their planned activities with those of other commissions and/or with major planned United Nations events, and also encourages the functional commissions, assisted by their secretariats, to enhance coordination and collaboration at the programme planning and formulation stage;"		The Commission will have before it the narrative concerning the advancement of women for the next medium-term plan. The Commission will be called upon to review, comment and make recommendations on this narrative from a policy perspective. The Commission’s comments serve as input into the work of the Committee for Programme and Coordination. Recommendations When preparing its provisional agenda for 2001, the Commission may wish to indicate linkages to planned activities of other commissions. The Commission may also wish to implement that Council recommendation in 2001, when it elaborates its new multi-year work programme. The Commission may wish to identify where linkages between its own work and that of other functional commissions could most usefully be established. Such linkages could be identified in conjunction with the narrative of the medium-term plan. They could also be identified in the narrative of the next biennial programme budget (2002-2003), which will be before the Commission in 2001. Based on the Commission’s past experience and practice, such linkages could, as a first step, be identified between the Commission on the Status of Women, the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice with regard to the mainstreaming of a gender perspective, as well as with regard to violence against women, including against women migrant workers and traditional practices affecting the health of women and girls.
Operative para. 9: "Invites the functional commissions, in designing their multi-year programmes of work, to take fully into account the multi-year programmes of work of other functional commissions to ensure complementarity between them;"		Recommendations The Commission may wish to request its secretariat to provide the Commission, at its forty-fifth session, when it is expected to elaborate its new multi-year work programme, with the multi-year work programmes of other functional commissions, and with recommendations on how to ensure complementarity between those programmes and the Commission’s programme. The Commission may also wish to request its secretariat to provide an overview of the working methods of other commissions, including inter-sessional activities, to facilitate the Commission’s consideration of its own future working methods and cooperation with other commissions (see also above, action taken under operative para. 6).
Operative para. 12: "Stresses the importance of ensuring continuity on the bureaux of the functional commissions, and, therefore, invites the functional commissions to consider re-electing at least one member of the outgoing bureau to the incoming bureau, without prejudice to the rules of procedures of the functional commissions of the Council regarding the election of the bureau;"		The Commission on the Status of Women elects its bureau for two-year terms. It will be called upon to elect a new bureau at the beginning of its forty-fourth session, on 28 February 2000.
Operative para. 21: "Invites the functional commissions to continue to give particular attention to the situation of African countries and the least developed countries in their consideration of relevant issues, especially in view of the upcoming Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries in 2001 and the review of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s in 2002;"		Recommendations The Commission may wish to reflect this recommendation in its multi-year work programme for 2002-2005.
Operative para. 23: "Requests the functional commissions to report to the Council on the follow-up actions to the present resolution at its substantive session of 2000;"		Recommendations The Commission may wish to inform the Council of steps taken in accordance with Council resolution 1999/51.

Council resolution 1999/55		Action taken by the Commission/ recommendations for further action

Operative para. 3: "... encourages the bureaux of the preparatory committees for the forthcoming five-year reviews of the Fourth World Conference on Women and of the World Summit for Social Development to consult with one another to avoid duplication and ensure cross-fertilization of ideas;"		A joint meeting of the bureaux of the two preparatory committees had been planned for mid-October 1999 but was postponed because of the work of the General Assembly; efforts continue to schedule a meeting.
Operative para. 5: "... calls for further cooperation between the functional commissions and the rest of the United Nations system in order to complement United Nations conferences and summits in a coherent way and recalls in this context that adoption of multi-year thematic programmes for the functional commissions responsible for follow-up to major conferences can be helpful;"		(See above, action taken under operative para. 6 of Council resolution 1999/51)
Operative para. 6: "Encourages the functional commissions, in their outcomes, to identify more clearly actions that require a coordinated United Nations system-wide response as well as to highlight recommendations specifically addressed to organizations of the United Nations system and to identify areas in which the Council could provide guidance to the programmes, funds and agencies regarding the decisions and recommendations of the functional commissions addressed to them;"		A system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women has served for several years as an indicative planning instrument for the entities of the United Nations system to ensure comprehensive support for the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies and more recently the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The current medium-term plan for 1996-2000 was endorsed by the Economic and Social Council in 1996, based on extensive comments adopted thereon by the Commission on the Status of Women. A mid-term review of the implementation of the plan was undertaken by the Council, through the Commission, in 1998. The Commission has before it at its forty-fourth session the final assessment of the implementation of the plan. A new plan for the years 2002-2005 will be prepared following the special session. Recommendations Based on the assessment report, the Commission may wish to provide guidance to the United Nations system on the approach for the preparation of the new plan for 2002-2005. The Commission, in its agreed conclusions on accelerated implementation of the 12 critical areas of concern, has regularly identified actions to be taken by the United Nations system. The Commission has not yet identified areas in which the Council could provide guidance to the programmes, funds and agencies regarding the decisions and recommendations of the Commission on the Status of Women addressed to them.
Operative para. 11: "Decides to review the follow-up by the functional commissions of the decisions and recommendations of the Council addressed to them and invites the commissions to discuss follow-up to the Council’s outcomes under a specific agenda item at their sessions;"		In the draft provisional agenda for its forty-fourth session submitted to the Council for approval, the Commission included an item entitled "Follow-up to Council resolutions and decisions". Recommendation The Commission may wish to inform the Council of steps taken and any additional action it intends to take to implement the guidance provided by the Council in its resolutions adopted in 1998 and 1999.