A/RES/51/226 Page 7 25. Requests the Secretary-General to accord priority consideration to successful candidates from the national competitive examinations who have not been placed within one year for all other vacancies, including those of short duration; 26. Also requests the Secretary-General to extend to consultants and to personnel provided on a non-reimbursable basis the current practice of barring interns from applying for or being appointed to posts in the Secretariat for a period of six months after the end of their internships, and decides that persons on short-term appointments filling regular budget posts or extrabudgetary posts of one year or more cannot apply for or be appointed to their current post within six months of the end of their current service; 27. Further requests the Secretary-General to ensure that persons serving in peacekeeping or other field missions become eligible for consideration for internal vacancies in the Secretariat after having served for at least twelve months; should they be considered for appointment, established recruitment criteria and relevant rules shall apply; 28. Requests the Secretary-General to resume normal recruitment activities at all levels as soon as possible; C. Status of women in the Secretariat Reaffirming that the Fifth Committee is the appropriate Main Committee of the General Assembly entrusted with responsibility for administrative, budgetary and human resources management matters, including, in this context, the question of the representation of women in the Secretariat, Welcoming the achievement of the goal of a 35 per cent overall participation rate of women in posts subject to geographical distribution, Noting with concern that the goal set in its resolution 45/239 C of 21 December 1990 of a 25 per cent participation rate of women in posts at the D-1 level and above by 1995 is still far from being achieved, Recalling its resolution 51/67 of 12 December 1996, including the reaffirmation of the goal of a 50/50 gender distribution by the year 2000, Concerned that this goal may not be met, especially at the policy-making and decision-making levels of D-1 and above, Noting that the overall percentage of representation of women in all Professional posts was 33.66 as at 31 December 1996, Reaffirming that the Secretary-General, in his efforts to achieve this goal, should take into account the principle that the paramount consideration shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with full respect for the principle of equitable geographical distribution, 1. Urges the Secretary-General fully to implement and monitor the strategic plan of action for the improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat (1995-2000);9 2. Requests the Secretary-General to continue his work to create a gender-sensitive work environment, through the implementation of all 9 A/49/587 and Corr.1, sect. IV. /...