A/RES/69/250 Pattern of conferences 20. Urges those intergovernmental bodies whose average utilization factor has for the past 10 years been below the benchmark of 80 per cent to take that factor into account when planning their future sessions in order to achieve that benchmark; 21. Recognizes that late starts and unplanned early endings seriously affect the utilization factor of the bodies owing to the amount of time lost, and invites the secretariats and bureaux of bodies to pay adequate attention to avoiding late starts and unplanned early endings; 22. Notes that the percentage of meetings held by the bodies entitled to meet “as required” that were provided with interpretation services in New York in 2013 was 98 per cent, and that in 2012 it was 97 per cent, as compared with 96 per cent in 2011, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to impress upon such bodies the need to continue to improve the utilization of the conference services provided and to report on the provision of conference services to those bodies through the Committee on Conferences; 23. Reiterates its request to intergovernmental bodies to review their meeting entitlements and to plan and adjust their programmes of work on the basis of their actual utilization of conference-servicing resources in order to improve their efficient use of conference services; 24. Recognizes the importance of meetings of regional and other major groupings of Member States for the smooth functioning of the sessions of intergovernmental bodies, requests the Secretary-General to ensure that, as far as possible, all requests for conference services for the meetings of regional and other major groupings of Member States are met, and requests the Secretariat to inform the requesters as early as possible about the availability of conference services, including interpretation, as well as about any changes that might occur before the holding of meetings; 25. 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 93 per cent in 2013, as compared with 91 per cent in 2012, 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; 26. 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; 27. 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; 28. Notes with satisfaction that, in accordance with several resolutions of the General Assembly, including resolution 68/251, section II.A, paragraph 22, in conformity with the headquarters rule, all meetings of Nairobi-based United Nations bodies were held in Nairobi in 2013, and requests the Secretary-General to report 4/15

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