United Nations A/RES/56/279 General Assembly Fifty-sixth session Agenda item 121 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly [on the report of the Fifth Committee (A/56/734/Add.1)] 56/279. Report of the Joint Inspection Unit on the United Nations system common services at Geneva The General Assembly, Recalling its resolution 54/255 of 7 April 2000, Having considered the report of the Joint Inspection Unit entitled “United Nations system common services at Geneva, part II: Case studies (ICC, JMS, TES, DPS, JPS)”,1 and the note by the Secretary-General2 transmitting his comments and those of the Administrative Committee on Coordination3 thereon, Having also considered the report of the Secretary-General4 submitted pursuant to paragraph 9 of its resolution 54/255, Having further considered the information contained in the first report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions,5 1. Takes note of the recommendations of the Joint Inspection Unit1 and the comments of the Secretary-General and the Administrative Committee on Coordination thereon;2 2. Reiterates that the use of common services at Geneva should be one of many tools available to organizations and managers to obtain goods and services in the most efficient and effective manner; 3. Encourages the organizations concerned, in their continuing efforts further to expand areas of cooperative arrangements, to give priority to those services that lend themselves to common delivery using the criteria of efficiency, productivity and cost effectiveness and, where feasible, to take into account the recommendations contained in _______________ 1 See A/55/856. A/55/856/Add.1. 3 The Administrative Committee on Coordination was renamed the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination pursuant to Economic and Social Council decision 2001/321 of 24 October 2001. 4 A/56/417/Rev.1. 5 Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 7 (A/56/7), chap. I, sect. E.14, para. 124 and chap. II, sect. A. paras. I.68 and VIII.97-VIII.103. 2 01 49512 Distr.: General 25 April 2002