A/RES/57/273 1. Takes note with appreciation of the reports of the Secretary-General on the outcome of the International Conference on Financing for Development 3 and on follow-up efforts to the Conference; 4 2. Reaffirms that the Conference constituted a new approach by the international community and that its implementation and follow-up should be given a very high priority in the economic and social work of the United Nations; 3. Requests the Secretary-General to establish, as soon as possible, from within the existing resources of the United Nations Secretariat, appropriate secretariat support arrangements along the lines envisioned in paragraph 48 of the report of the Secretary-General on the outcome of the Conference,3 with collaboration from other agencies and institutional stakeholders and with a distinctive function to provide effective substantive secretariat support for sustained follow-up within the United Nations to the agreements and commitments reached at the Conference; 4. Decides that the functions of the new secretariat support structure should be of an integrating, cross-cutting and holistic nature and that it should, inter alia, serve as a focal point in the United Nations Secretariat for overall follow-up to the implementation of the outcome of the Conference, provide secretariat support to the intergovernmental process entrusted with the follow-up to the Conference, support and facilitate the participation of all stakeholders, follow closely the issues and policies related to international economic, financial and development cooperation, and keep under review actions taken at all levels in the follow-up to the Conference, as well as within the framework of international economic, financial and development cooperation, in general; 5. Requests the Secretary-General to accord priority to the following main tasks related to follow-up activities: (a) promoting coherence and an integrated approach within the United Nations to issues related to financing for development, fully utilizing the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination mechanism; (b) intensifying interactions with the secretariats of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization, as well as other institutional stakeholders; (c) continuing the involvement of other relevant stakeholders, including civil society organizations and the private sector; and (d) preparing inputs for consideration by the intergovernmental bodies concerned; 6. Invites Member States and all institutional and non-institutional stakeholders in the financing for development process to extend their full support to and cooperate fully with the new secretariat support structure in fulfilling its tasks; 7. Decides that the provisions of the present resolution should be implemented, utilizing existing resources, starting at the beginning of 2003; 8. Requests the Secretary-General to seek voluntary contributions to support the follow-up to the Conference; 9. Also requests the Secretary-General, as a part of his consolidated report on financing for development, to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session on the implementation of the present resolution. 78th plenary meeting 20 December 2002 _______________ 3 4 2 A/57/344. A/57/319–E/2002/85.