A/RES/54/173 Page 3 Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on United Nations activities aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of the principle of periodic and genuine elections,4 1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General;4 2. Commends the electoral assistance provided upon request to Member States by the United Nations, and requests that such assistance continue on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the evolving needs of requesting countries to improve and refine their electoral institutions and processes and with the guidelines on electoral assistance, recognizing that the fundamental responsibility of organizing free and fair elections lies with Governments; 3. Requests the Electoral Assistance Division of the Department of Political Affairs of the Secretariat, in its role as coordinator of United Nations electoral assistance, to continue to inform Member States on a regular basis about the requests received, responses given to those requests and the nature of the assistance provided; 4. Requests that the United Nations continue its efforts to ensure, before undertaking to provide electoral assistance to a requesting State, that there is adequate time to organize and carry out an effective mission for providing such assistance, that conditions exist to allow a free and fair election and that provisions can be made for adequate and comprehensive reporting of the results of the mission; 5. Recommends that the Electoral Assistance Division continue to provide technical advice before and after elections and post-election assistance, as appropriate, based on needs assessment missions, to requesting States and electoral institutions, in order to contribute to the sustainability of their electoral processes and the consolidation of the democratization process; 6. Also recommends that United Nations electoral assistance be geared towards comprehensive observation of the entire time-span of the electoral process in instances where more than technical assistance is required by the requesting State; 7. Requests the Secretary-General to take further steps to support States that request assistance by, inter alia, enabling the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in accordance with her mandate, to support democratization activities related to human rights concerns, including human rights training and education, assistance for human rights-related legislative reform, strengthening and reform of the judiciary, assistance to national human rights institutions and advisory services on treaty accession, reporting and international obligations as related to human rights; 8. Requests the United Nations Development Programme to continue its commendable programmes of assistance for governance in cooperation with other relevant organizations and institutions, as outlined in the report of the Secretary-General,4 in particular those for strengthening democratic institutions and participation and linkages between concerned sectors of society and Governments; 9. Recalls the establishment by the Secretary-General of the United Nations Trust Fund for Electoral Observation, and calls upon Member States to consider contributing to the Fund; 4 A/54/491. /...