A/RES/56/103 10. Encourages the further use of space-based and ground-based remotesensing technologies for the prevention, mitigation and management of natural disasters, where appropriate; 11. Also encourages in such operations the sharing of geographical data, including remotely sensed images and geographic information system and global positioning system data among Governments, space agencies and relevant international humanitarian organizations, as appropriate, and notes in that context the work being done by the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters and the Global Disaster Information Network; 12. Stresses that particular international cooperation efforts should be undertaken to enhance and broaden further the utilization of national and local capacities and, where appropriate, regional and subregional capacities of developing countries for disaster preparedness and response, which may be made available in closer proximity to the site of a disaster, more efficiently and at lower cost; 13. Welcomes the role of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat as the focal point within the overall United Nations system for the promotion and coordination of disaster response preparedness among the United Nations humanitarian agencies and other humanitarian partners; 14. Also welcomes the establishment of the positions of regional disaster response advisers by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as well as the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme to establish regional disaster reduction adviser positions, and encourages the further development of those initiatives in a coordinated and complementary manner in order to assist developing countries in capacity-building for disaster prevention, preparedness mitigation and response; 15. Takes note of the initiatives taken by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and by the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of international urban search and rescue assistance in the aftermath of natural disasters; 16. Encourages the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to continue its efforts to promote greater international cooperation to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of urban search and rescue assistance; 17. Encourages further cooperation between the United Nations system and regional organizations in order to increase the capacity of those organizations to respond to natural disasters; 18. Encourages States that have not signed or ratified the Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations, adopted at Tampere, Finland, on 18 June 1998, 4 to consider doing so; 19. Invites the United Nations system to explore further the concept of transitional recovery teams for providing assistance for bridging relief assistance and development cooperation; 20. Requests the Secretary-General, in collaboration with relevant organization partners, to continue progress on compiling a directory of disaster _______________ 4 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1586, No. 27688. 3