A/RES/62/218 12. Notes decision 39/I of the Committee, 16 in which it requested the General Assembly to authorize an extension of its meeting time; 15F 13. Also notes that a backlog of reports of thirty-four States parties to be considered by the Committee persists; 14. Decides to authorize the Committee to hold three annual sessions of three weeks each, with a one-week pre-sessional working group for each session, for an interim period effective from January 2010, pending the entry into force of the amendment to article 20, paragraph 1, of the Convention, and to authorize three annual sessions of the Working Group on Communications under the Optional Protocol to the Convention; 15. Also decides to authorize the Committee to meet on an exceptional and temporary basis in the biennium 2008–2009 in a total of five sessions, of which three would occur in parallel chambers, taking due account of equitable geographical distribution, for the purpose of considering reports of States parties submitted under article 18 of the Convention; and further decides that two of the five sessions shall be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York; 16. Urges the Committee to evaluate progress, and decides to assess the situation with regard to the location of the sessions of the Committee after two years, also taking into account the wider context of treaty body reform; 17. Encourages the Secretariat to extend further technical assistance to States parties, upon their request, to strengthen their capacity in the preparation of reports, in particular initial reports, and invites Governments to contribute to those efforts; 18. Invites States parties to make use of the technical assistance provided by the Secretariat to facilitate the preparation of reports, in particular initial reports; 19. Encourages the continued participation of members of the Committee in inter-committee meetings and meetings of persons chairing the human rights treaty bodies, including those on methods of work relating to the State reporting system; 20. Encourages the Committee, within its mandate, to continue to contribute to the efforts to strengthen cooperation and coordination between the treaty bodies; 21. Requests the Secretary-General, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 54/4 of 6 October 1999, to provide the resources, including staff and facilities, necessary for the effective functioning of the Committee within its full mandate, taking into account in particular the entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the Convention; 22. Urges Governments, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to disseminate the Convention and the Optional Protocol thereto; 23. Encourages States parties to disseminate the concluding comments adopted in relation to the consideration of their reports, as well as the general recommendations of the Committee; 24. Encourages all relevant entities of the United Nations system to continue to build women’s knowledge and understanding of and capacity to utilize human rights instruments, in particular the Convention and the Optional Protocol thereto; _______________ 16 4 Ibid., Sixty-second Session, Supplement No. 38 (A/62/38), part three, chap. I.