A/RES/53/221 Page 12 General Assembly, and to include relevant information thereon in all future reports on the composition of the Secretariat; 8. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to increase further his efforts to improve the composition of the Secretariat by ensuring a wide and equitable geographical distribution of staff in all departments; 9. Takes note of the observation in the report of the Secretary-General on the composition of the Secretariat13 with regard to the anticipated vacancies in posts subject to geographical distribution, and requests the Secretary-General, when filling those vacancies, to take into account the continuing inequitable representation among the Member States; 10. Urges all Member States, in particular those with inadequate representation in the Secretariat, to make every effort to identify qualified candidates for consideration for appointment in the Secretariat, and in this regard requests the Secretary-General to ensure that, among equally qualified candidates, preference is given to candidates from under-represented Member States; X STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE SECRETARIAT Reaffirming section VI of its resolution 45/248 B of 21 December 1990, Reaffirming also that the Fifth Committee is the appropriate Main Committee of the General Assembly entrusted with responsibility for the administrative and budgetary matters relating to the question of the status of women in the Secretariat, 1. Decides that all reports dealing with administrative and budgetary aspects of the status of women in the Secretariat shall be considered by the Fifth Committee; 2. Notes that, while there has been improvement in the status of women in the Secretariat, the rate of progress in the representation of women from developing countries, particularly at the senior level, has been very slow, and in this context urges the Secretary-General to make greater efforts to redress this situation in accordance with Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session; 3. Recalls its resolution 53/119 of 9 December 1998, including the reaffirmation of the goal of 50/50 gender distribution by the year 2000 in all categories of posts within the United Nations system, especially at the D-1 level and above, with full respect for the principle of equitable geographical distribution, in conformity with Article 101 of the Charter, and taking into account the continuing lack of representation or under-representation of women from certain countries, in particular from developing countries as well as countries with economies in transition; 13 Ibid., para. 102. /...