appropriate intra- and inter-ministerial procedures and staffing, and other institutions with the mandate and capacity to broaden women’s participation; 5. Welcomes the reports of the Secretary-General on the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women,42 which underscore the importance of mainstreaming a gender perspective by translating the concept into practical action, including by outlining the steps required for mainstreaming; 6. Reiterates that the responsibility for mainstreaming starts at the highest levels, and in this regard, emphasizes the importance of the role of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women, while stressing the need for the systematic consideration of gender mainstreaming at the highest levels; 7. Also reiterates the need to fully integrate a gender perspective into the coordinated follow-up to major United Nations conferences and summits; 8. Requests the Secretary-General, in the context of the review of the system-wide medium-term plan for the advancement of women in 1998, to give due attention to the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, including mainstreaming; 9. Encourages the Secretary-General to continue to give full support to coordination and policy within the United Nations for the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and for the mainstreaming of a system-wide gender perspective in all activities of the United Nations, taking into account the mandates of the bodies concerned; 10. Stresses the importance of the work of the Inter-Agency Committee on Women and Gender Equality in regularly monitoring progress made in incorporating a gender perspective in institutional structures, policies and programming; 11. Also stresses the importance of mainstreaming a gender perspective into the ongoing restructuring process of the Secretariat, and welcomes the efforts already made; 12. Encourages further cooperation between the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Secretariat and other parts of the United Nations system in order to mainstream a gender perspective in areas such as peacekeeping, political, economic and social affairs, operational activities for development, and humanitarian affairs; 13. Calls upon all bodies and agencies of the United Nations system, in the design and implementation of their programmes and assistance, to respect fully the human rights of women and the girl child; 14. Invites the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in the execution of his/her mandate, to pay particular attention to the need for cooperation and coordination to ensure that the equal status of all human rights of all women and the girl child are integrated into United Nations system-wide activities, as well as to the means of achieving this, as noted in Commission on the Status of Women resolution 40/343 and Commission on Human Rights resolution 42 A/51/322 and E/CN.6/1997/2. 43 Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1996, Supplement No. 6 (E/1996/26), chap. I, sect. C.2. -30-