A/RES/51/226 Page 4 6. Welcomes the intention of the Secretary-General to streamline administrative procedures and eliminate duplication, in relation to human resources management, through delegation of authority to programme managers, and requests him to ensure, before delegating such authority, that welldesigned mechanisms of accountability, including the necessary internal monitoring and control procedures, as well as training, are put in place, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-third session; 7. Requests the Secretary-General to expedite the simplification and streamlining of all personnel rules and procedures in order to make them transparent and easier to apply, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-third session; 8. Reaffirms the need for the Secretary-General to use, to the fullest extent possible, the staff-management consultative mechanisms set out in staff rule 108.2 and to strengthen the staff-management dialogue in the United Nations and all its funds and programmes, and requests him to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-third session; 9. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure in his proposed programme budget for the biennium 1998-1999 provision to the Office of Human Resources Management of the level of resources commensurate with the mandate set out above; 10. Recalls that the functions of staff representatives are official; 11. Also recalls that elected staff representatives are staff members of the United Nations; 12. Recognizes the fact that staff representatives are entitled to an opportunity for career advancement, decides that the period of their continuous release shall not exceed four years, and also decides to limit such release to elected staff representatives only, on either a full-time or a part-time basis; 13. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly a report on the practice of Member States relative to the financing of national staff representation and on the proportion of staff representation; III. HUMAN RESOURCES PLANNING, RECRUITMENT, STATUS OF WOMEN AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT Recalling Articles 8 and 101 of the Charter of the United Nations, A. Human resources planning Emphasizing the importance of human resources planning to both recruitment and career development, 1. Takes note of the preliminary work in human resources planning, especially in the projection of recruitment needs at the entry level from 1997 to 2001, and requests that these activities be continued and expanded; 2. Requests the Secretary-General, in accordance with relevant staff regulations and rules, to use, to the fullest extent possible, existing mechanisms, such as agreed termination or granting leave without pay, to create opportunities for upward mobility for existing staff and for recruiting new staff; /...