Pattern of conferences A/RES/68/251 II A. Utilization of conference-servicing resources 9. Reaffirms the practice that, in the use of conference rooms, priority must be given to meetings of Member States; 10. Calls upon the Secretary-General and Member States to adhere to the guidelines and procedures contained in the administrative instruction for the authorization of the use of United Nations premises for meetings, conferences, special events and exhibits; 5 11. Emphasizes that such meetings, conferences, special events and exhibits must be consistent with the purposes and principles of the United Nations; 12. Notes that the overall utilization factor at the four main duty stations in 2012 was 84 per cent, and that in 2011 it was 85 per cent, as in 2010, which is above the established benchmark of 80 per cent; 13. Welcomes the steps taken by those bodies that have adjusted their programmes of work in order to achieve the optimum utilization of conferenceservicing resources, and requests the Committee on Conferences to intensify consultations with the secretariats and bureaux of bodies that underutilize their conference-servicing resources; 14. Urges those intergovernmental bodies whose average utilization factor has for the past 10 years been below the benchmark of 80 per cent to take that factor into account when planning their future sessions in order to achieve that benchmark; 15. Recognizes that late starts and unplanned early endings seriously affect the utilization factor of the bodies owing to the amount of time lost, and invites the secretariats and bureaux of bodies to pay adequate attention to avoiding late starts and unplanned early endings; 16. Notes that the percentage of meetings held by the bodies entitled to meet “as required” that were provided with interpretation services in New York in 2012 was 97 per cent, and that in 2011 it was 96 per cent, as compared with 94 per cent in 2010, and requests the Secretary-General to continue to impress upon such bodies the need to continue to improve the utilization of the conference services provided and to report on the provision of conference services to those bodies through the Committee on Conferences; 17. Reiterates its request to intergovernmental bodies to review their meeting entitlements and to plan and adjust their programmes of work on the basis of their actual utilization of conference-servicing resources in order to improve their efficient use of conference services; 18. Recognizes the importance of meetings of regional and other major groupings of Member States for the smooth functioning of the sessions of intergovernmental bodies, requests the Secretary-General to ensure that, as far as possible, all requests for conference services for the meetings of regional and other major groupings of Member States are met, and requests the Secretariat to inform the requesters as early as possible about the availability of conference services, including interpretation, as well as about any changes that might occur before the holding of meetings; _______________ 5 ST/AI/416. 3/12