A/RES/49/158 Page 2 Convinced that the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch can be effective only if it is provided with resources commensurate to its requirements and adequate to allow it to implement its mandates and to respond in a timely and efficient manner to the increasing requests of Member States for its services, Recalling Economic and Social Council resolution 1986/11 of 21 May 1986, in which the Council requested the Secretary-General to look critically at the existing structure and level of management of the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch, with a view to strengthening its capacity and status commensurate to its responsibility, Recalling also its resolution 46/152 of 18 December 1991 on the creation of an effective United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme, in which it approved the statement of principles and programme of action annexed to the resolution, in which it was recommended to the Secretary-General that an upgrading of the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch into a division should be effected as soon as possible, Recalling further its resolution 48/103 of 20 December 1993, in which it reiterated its request to the Secretary-General to strengthen the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme and to upgrade, as a matter of urgency, the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Brancht to a division, Recalling its relevant resolutions as well as the decisions of the Economic and Social Council, which accorded a high level of priority to the activities of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme and requested an appropriate share of the overall resources of the United Nations for the programme, Concerned about the fact that despite the repeated calls by the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council to upgrade the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch to a division, action has not been taken to give effect to Assembly resolutions 46/152, 47/91 of 16 December 1992 and 48/103, and Council resolutions 1992/22 of 30 July 1992, 1993/31 and 1993/34 of 27 July 1993 and 1994/16 of 25 July 1994, Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on the progress made in the implementation of General Assembly resolutions 46/152, 47/91 and 48/103, 1/ 1. Welcomes with appreciation Economic and Social Council resolution 1994/16 of 25 July 1994, entitled "Strengthening the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme"; 2. Reaffirms the importance of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme and the crucial role it has to play in promoting international cooperation in crime prevention and criminal justice, in responding to the needs of the international community in the face of both national and transnational criminality and in assisting Member States in achieving the goals of preventing crime within and among States and improving the response to crime; 3. Also reaffirms the priority of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme, in accordance with its resolutions 46/152, 47/91 and 48/103, and the need for an appropriate share of the existing resources of the United Nations for the programme; 1/ A/49/593.