A/RES/59/198 1. Welcomes the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities; 1 2. Requests the Secretary-General to transmit the report of the Ad Hoc Committee to the Commission for Social Development at its forty-third session and to the Commission on Human Rights at its sixty-first session, and further requests both Commissions to continue to contribute to the work of the Ad Hoc Committee; Welcomes with satisfaction the beginning of the negotiations on a draft 3. convention by the Ad Hoc Committee at its third session, as requested by the General Assembly in resolution 58/246, and the progress achieved so far in the negotiation of a draft convention; Invites Member States and observers to continue to participate actively 4. and constructively in the Ad Hoc Committee with a view to the early conclusion of a draft text of a convention, in order to present it to the General Assembly, as a matter of priority, for its adoption; Decides that the Ad Hoc Committee shall hold, within existing resources, 5. prior to the sixtieth session of the General Assembly, two sessions in 2005, of ten working days each, to be held, respectively, from 24 January to 4 February and in July/August; Underlines the importance of further strengthening the cooperation and 6. coordination between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the Secretariat in order to provide technical support to the work of the Ad Hoc Committee, and in this regard invites them to provide, in advance of the meetings of the Ad Hoc Committee, background documentation to assist Member States and observers in the negotiation of a draft convention, and to organize, in close connection and timing with the meetings and venue of the Ad Hoc Committee, meetings of experts and seminars in relation to the draft convention, within existing resources; Requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide the Ad Hoc 7. Committee with the facilities necessary for the performance of its work, and in this context invites the Secretary-General to reallocate resources to the United Nations Programme on Disability so as to provide support to the negotiations on a draft convention; Stresses the need for additional efforts to ensure accessibility at the 8. United Nations, with reasonable accommodation regarding facilities and documentation, for all persons with disabilities, in accordance with General Assembly decision 56/474 of 23 July 2002; Encourages Member States to continue to include in their delegations to 9. the Ad Hoc Committee persons with disabilities and/or other experts in the field; 10. Urges Member States, observers, civil society and the private sector to contribute to the voluntary fund established pursuant to its resolution 57/229 of 18 December 2002 to support the participation of non-governmental organizations and experts from developing countries, in particular least developed countries, in the work of the Ad Hoc Committee; _______________ 1 2 See A/59/360.