A/RES/51/180 Page 4 12. Renews its appeal to Governments, regional economic integration organizations and other interested organizations, as well as to non-governmental organizations and the private sector, to continue to make contributions to relevant United Nations bodies, in order to strengthen their capacity to support activities to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought in all affected developing countries and regions, particularly in Africa; 13. Requests the Secretary-General, subject to the decision of the Conference of the Parties at its first session, to consider: (a) Authorizing the secretariat established pursuant to resolution 47/188 to act as secretariat for the transition period following the first session of the Conference of the Parties until the permanent secretariat designated by the Conference of the Parties begins operating, which should not be later than 31 December 1998; (b) Maintaining the arrangements within the current programme budget for the interim secretariat to support the Convention beyond the first session of the Conference of the Parties until the permanent secretariat designated by the Conference of the Parties begins operating, which should not be later than 31 December 1998, and maintaining the arrangements relating to extrabudgetary funds; 14. Requests the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the attention of all Governments, the relevant specialized agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system, international financial institutions, other intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and relevant institutions; 15. Also requests the Secretary-General to report to it, at its fiftysecond session, on the implementation of the present resolution and on any possible implications arising from the report of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on its first session; 16. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-second session an item entitled "Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa". 86th plenary meeting 16 December 1996