A/RES/57/305 prevent discrimination on the basis of nationality, race, gender, religion or language in the United Nations, in accordance with the principles of the Charter and the provisions of the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations, and to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session; 12. Reiterates its concern about the continuing high vacancy rates at some United Nations duty stations and regional commissions, especially those located in developing countries; 13. Recalls the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the Office of Internal Oversight Services following the inspection of the administrative and management practices of the United Nations Office at Nairobi,4 and in this regard requests the Secretary-General to address the causes of the continuous high vacancy rates at all the heavily affected United Nations offices and regional commissions in developing countries, particularly those located in Africa, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session; 14. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fiftyninth session on the differences between the policies and procedures for staff recruitment, selection and appointment of the Secretariat and those of jointly funded organizations, such as the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, the International Civil Service Commission and the Joint Inspection Unit, specifically addressing the mechanisms in those jointly funded organizations to ensure equal access to the opportunity to compete for positions, merit-based staffing and fairness and transparency in the selection process; 15. Welcomes the introduction of Galaxy, and requests the Secretary-General to ensure that it will enhance transparency, efficiency and effectiveness in the recruitment process of the United Nations system, subject to the framework of current mandates of human resources management in the Organization; 16. Notes that nationals of one hundred and eighty-six Member States have submitted employment applications utilizing Galaxy; 17. Requests the Secretary-General to further improve Galaxy, including measures to deal with the increased number of applications, and to invite all the organizations of the United Nations system to use Galaxy for recruitment, and to report on its performance to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session; 18. Also requests the Secretary-General to inform Member States monthly, through the United Nations web site, and upon request in hard copy, of appointments made; 19. Further requests the Secretary-General to ensure that relevant experience, knowledge and institutional memory acquired in the United Nations system are given due consideration in evaluating applications for promotion, consistent with the need to select staff on the basis of merit, demonstrated competencies and performance; 20. Requests the Secretary-General, while filling vacant posts in the language services of the Secretariat, to ensure the highest quality of translation and interpretation in all six official languages; 21. Recalls resolution 55/258, in particular section IV, paragraph 3, and draws attention to the difficulties relating to access to information technology by some developing countries, including the least developed countries; 22. Requests the Secretary-General, in view of the difficulties referred to above, to continue to maintain a system of circulation of hard copies of all vacancy announcements, _______________ 4 See A/56/620. 3