A/RES/68/251
Pattern of conferences
19. Notes that the percentage of meetings held by regional and other major
groupings of Member States that were provided with interpretation services at the
four main duty stations was 95 per cent in 2012, as compared with 91 per cent in
2011, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to employ innovative means to
address the difficulties experienced by Member States owing to the lack of
conference services for some meetings of regional and other major groupings of
Member States and to report thereon to the General Assembly through the
Committee on Conferences;
20. Once again urges intergovernmental bodies to spare no effort at the
planning stage to take into account the meetings of regional and other major
groupings of Member States, to make provision for such meetings in their
programmes of work and to notify conference services, well in advance, of any
cancellations so that unutilized conference-servicing resources may, to the extent
possible, be reassigned to meetings of regional and other major groupings of
Member States;
21. Welcomes the efforts of all users of conference services to inform the
Secretariat as early as possible of any cancellation of service requests so as to allow
for such services to be smoothly redeployed to other meetings;
22. Notes with satisfaction that, in accordance with several resolutions of the
General Assembly, including resolution 67/237, section II.A, paragraph 13, in
conformity with the headquarters rule, all meetings of Nairobi-based United Nations
bodies were held in Nairobi in 2012, and requests the Secretary-General to report
thereon to the Assembly at its sixty-ninth session through the Committee on
Conferences;
23. Notes with concern the recurring underutilization of the conference
centre of the Economic Commission for Africa, specifically given the ongoing
renovation of its facilities, recognizes the continuing promotional efforts and
initiatives of the Commission, and requests the Secretary-General to report thereon
to the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session through the Committee on
Conferences;
24. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to explore additional means
to increase the utilization of the conference centre of the Economic Commission for
Africa, including with its partners such as the African Union, and to report thereon,
including on the impact of the initiatives of the Commission, to the General
Assembly at its sixty-ninth session;
25. Also requests the Secretary-General to encourage the heads of entities of
the United Nations system to use as a matter of priority, when applicable, the
conference centre of the Economic Commission for Africa to ensure greater
utilization of the conference facilities;
26. Recalls section II.A, paragraph 17, of its resolution 67/237, reiterates its
request that the Secretary-General formulate a competitive pricing structure and an
appropriate marketing strategy for the conference centre of the Economic
Commission for Africa, and requests the Secretary-General to report thereon to the
General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session;
27. Recognizes the proactive efforts of the Secretary-General to identify
ways to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in conference services;
28. Requests the Secretary-General to propose, at the sixty-ninth session of
the General Assembly, a comprehensive review of conference servicing,
4/12
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