A/RES/53/208 Page 2 2. Invites the Committee on Conferences to consider the question of the participation of observers in the work of the Committee in accordance with the relevant rules of procedure of the General Assembly; 3. Notes with appreciation the work of the Committee on Conferences, and takes note of its report; 4. Approves the draft revised calendar of conferences and meetings of the United Nations for 1999 as submitted by the Committee on Conferences,2 subject to the provisions of the present resolution; 5. Authorizes the Committee on Conferences to make adjustments to the calendar of conferences and meetings for 1999 that may become necessary as a result of actions and decisions taken by the General Assembly at its fifty-third session; 6. Requests the Secretary-General to provide all the conference services required as a result of decisions taken by the General Assembly at its fifty-third session, taking into account, as necessary, the procedures established by the Assembly in its resolutions 41/213 of 19 December 1986 and 42/211 of 21 December 1987; 7. Reaffirms its decision that the headquarters rule shall be adhered to by all bodies; 8. Decides that waivers to the headquarters rule shall be granted solely on the basis of the calendar of conferences and meetings of the United Nations recommended by the Committee on Conferences for adoption by the General Assembly; 9. Invites all its subsidiary bodies that are authorized to meet away from their established headquarters to keep under review the exception to the headquarters rule in the light of their current work situation and to report any changes to the General Assembly through the Committee on Conferences; 10. Notes with appreciation that the Secretariat took into account the arrangements referred to in paragraphs 5 and 6 of section A of General Assembly resolution 52/214 and that the two holidays of Id al-Fitr and Id al-Adha, which occur in 1999 on 18 January and 29 March, respectively, shall be observed as official holidays of the United Nations, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure strict implementation of those arrangements when preparing all future draft calendars of conferences and meetings of the Organization; 11. Decides that United Nations bodies should be invited to avoid holding meetings on 9 April 1999 and that this arrangement should be taken into account when drafting future calendars of conferences and meetings; 12. Requests the Committee on Conferences to consider, at its next session, the proposal that United Nations bodies should avoid holding meetings on lunar New Year’s Day; 13. Emphasizes that, when planning the calendar of conferences and meetings, every effort should be made to avoid simultaneous peak periods at the various duty stations, and requests the Secretariat, when drafting future calendars of conferences and meetings, to merge into one section the draft list of meetings of treaty bodies established under the auspices of the United Nations and the draft calendar of conferences and meetings of the principal organs of the specialized agencies; 2 Ibid., annex. /...