A/RES/57/178 6. Further welcomes the fact that the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has adopted the rules governing its work under the Optional Protocol as part of its revised rules of procedure; 12 7. Notes that some States parties have modified their reservations, expresses satisfaction that some reservations have been withdrawn, and urges States parties to limit the extent of any reservations that they lodge to the Convention, to formulate any such reservations as precisely and as narrowly as possible, to ensure that no reservations are incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention, to review their reservations regularly with a view to withdrawing them and to withdraw reservations that are contrary to the object and purpose of the Convention; 8. Welcomes the adoption by the Committee of revised reporting guidelines, 13 in particular on the length of reports of States parties and the streamlining of their structure and content; 9. Recalls the great number of overdue reports, in particular initial reports, and urges States parties to the Convention to make every possible effort to submit their reports on the implementation of the Convention in a timely manner in accordance with article 18 thereof; 10. Encourages the Secretariat to extend further technical assistance to States parties, upon their request, in the preparation of reports, in particular initial reports, and invites Governments to contribute to these efforts; 11. Invites States parties to make use of the technical assistance provided by the Secretariat to facilitate the preparation of reports, in particular initial reports; 12. Expresses its satisfaction that the Committee has addressed successfully the large number of reports that awaited consideration by the Committee during the extraordinary session held from 5 to 23 August 2002; 13. Commends the Committee on its contributions to the effective implementation of the Convention; 14. Strongly urges States parties to the Convention to take appropriate measures so that acceptance of the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention by a two-thirds majority of States parties can be reached as soon as possible so that the amendment may enter into force; 15. Expresses its appreciation for the efforts made by the Committee to improve the efficiency of its working methods and for the holding, in Lund, Sweden, from 22 to 24 April 2002, of the seminar on the working methods of the Committee, and encourages the Committee to continue its efforts in this regard; 16. Also expresses its appreciation for the participation of the Committee in the first inter-committee meeting of the human rights treaty bodies on methods of work relating to the State reporting process, held in Geneva from 26 to 28 June 2002; 17. Encourages the Committee, within its mandate, to continue to contribute to the efforts to strengthen cooperation and coordination between the treaty bodies; _______________ 12 13 Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 38 (A/56/38), annex I. Ibid., Fifty-seventh Session, Supplement No. 38 (A/57/38), annex. 3