A/RES/59/266 including at non-family duty stations, and to provide full details of the financial implications; 6. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-first session a comprehensive report with proposals for conditions of field service addressing, inter alia, the feasibility and desirability of conditions of service distinct to peacekeeping operations and the feasibility and desirability of harmonized conditions of field service in the United Nations; Recognizes the authority of the Secretary-General to assign and deploy 7. staff according to the operational needs of the Organization, and requests him to limit the assignment of staff, in particular General Service staff, from Headquarters and other established offices to field missions unless required by operational necessity or the unavailability of requisite skills in local labour markets; XI Consultants and individual contractors 1. Endorses the observations and recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions contained in paragraphs 59 to 61 of its report,2 and requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its sixty-first session on the use of consultants and individual contractors, including actions taken to improve the monitoring capacity of the Office of Human Resources Management on this issue; Reaffirms that consultants shall not perform functions of staff members 2. of the Organization or have any representative or supervisory responsibility; 3. Reiterates that the Secretary-General should refrain from using consultants to carry out functions assigned to established posts and that consultants should be hired only in strict accordance with existing rules and relevant General Assembly resolutions and where expertise is not available within the Organization; Also reiterates that in areas where consultants are frequently hired for a 4. period of more than one year, the Secretary-General should submit proposals, where necessary, for the establishment of posts and should report thereon to the General Assembly at its sixty-first session; XII Employment of retired former staff 1. Notes with concern the increased use of retired former staff members in substantive areas and in decision-making positions; 2. Also notes with concern that the lack of proper succession planning has a negative impact on the rejuvenation of the Organization and on attaining core human resources targets; Endorses the views expressed by the Advisory Committee on 3. Administrative and Budgetary Questions in paragraphs 63 and 65 of its report;2 4. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to ensure that the employment of retired former staff has no adverse effects on the career planning and mobility of other United Nations staff members; 10