27 February 2006 CHART ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF REVITALIZATION RESOLUTIONS 58/126, 58/316 and 59/313 I. Resolution 58/126 of 19 December 2003 Operative Paragraph Annex Section A: Enhancing the authority and role of the General Assembly In annex A to resolution 58/126, the General Assembly, in order to enhance the authority and role of the General Assembly, decided that: 1. Member States reaffirm the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and the United Nations Millennium Declaration (resolution 55/2 of 8 September 2000) on the central position of the General Assembly. 2. The Security Council is invited to submit periodically, in accordance with Article 24 of the Charter, special subjectoriented reports to the General Assembly for its consideration on issues of current international concern. 3. The Security Council is invited to continue with initiatives to improve the quality of its annual report to the General Assembly, mandated by Article 24, paragraph 3, of the Charter, in order to provide the Assembly with a substantive, analytical and material account of its work, in accordance with resolution 51/193. 4. In carrying out the assessment of the debate on the annual report of the Security Council called for in resolution 51/241, annex, paragraph 12, the President shall inform the General Assembly of his decision regarding the need for further consideration of the Security Council report, including in respect of the convening of informal consultations, on the need for, and content of, any action by the Assembly based on the debate, as well as on any matters to be brought to the attention of the Security Council. Status of Implementation No action required. Since the adoption of resolution 58/126, no special subject-oriented reports were submitted to the Assembly. To be implemented by the Security Council. To date, consideration of the report of the Security Council has been held in the plenary. 1 27 February 2006 5. The President of the General Assembly should continue to be briefed regularly by the President of the Security Council on the work of the Council. The President of the Assembly may wish to inform Member States about the substantive issues raised during these meetings. 6. The Presidents of the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council should meet together periodically with a view to ensuring increased cooperation, coordination and complementarity of the work programmes of the three organs in accordance with their respective responsibilities under the Charter. In this connection, the President of the Security Council may wish to discuss the plans of the Security Council for thematic debates with the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Economic and Social Council. The President of the Assembly will inform Member States about the outcome of these meetings. 7. In June of each year, the Presidentelect of the General Assembly, after taking into account the views provided by Member States and following consultations with the incumbent President and the Secretary-General, will suggest an issue, or issues, of global concern upon which Member States will be invited to comment during the general debate at the forthcoming session of the Assembly. The views provided by Member States should also be summarized and circulated to Member States. Such suggestions regarding the issue(s) for comment will be without prejudice to the sovereign right of Member States to solely and entirely determine the content of their general debate statements. 8. The work and decisions of the General Assembly should be better publicized. Accordingly, the support provided by the Department of Public The Presidents of the General Assembly continue to be briefed by the President of the Security Council. The Presidents of the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council meet together periodically. The President-elect of the 60th session of the General Assembly suggested the theme "Follow-up and implementation of the Summit outcome". A plan has been presented by the Secretary-General to the twenty-sixth session of the Committee on Information (see A/AC.198/2004/6; see also resolution 2 27 February 2006 Information of the Secretariat for these purposes should be intensified and strengthened. The Secretary-General is requested to present a plan to this end, within existing resources, to the next session of the Committee on Information, so that recommendations can be made to the Assembly. 9. Member States and the Secretariat should consider initiatives that might be taken for better monitoring of the followup of resolutions of the General Assembly, such as the provision of timely inputs for reports of the Secretary-General and giving effect to proposals that would advance the follow-up of major United Nations conferences and summits. 10. The resources available to the Office of the President of the General Assembly in personnel and other support shall be augmented from within existing resources, bearing in mind the provisions of paragraph 22 of the annex to resolution 55/285. Five additional posts shall be made available to supplement current support, of which three shall be filled on an annual basis, following consultations with the incoming President, beginning at the fiftyninth session of the Assembly. 11. Transitional office accommodation and other support shall be provided to the President-elect of the General Assembly. The Secretary-General is requested to make the necessary arrangements for the provision of such support, within existing resources, beginning with the Presidentelect of the fifty-ninth session of the Assembly. 59/126 B of 10 December 2004). Under consideration. Implemented as of the 59th session. Implemented as of the 59th session. 3 27 February 2006 Operative Paragraph Annex Section B: Improving the working methods of the General Assembly The working methods of the General Assembly need to be further rationalized in order to improve its efficiency and effectiveness and to make its outcomes more productive. Towards this end: 1. The General Committee shall meet throughout the session and further improve its working methods to increase its efficiency and effectiveness. It will play the leading role in advising the General Assembly on the efficient organization, coordination and management of its work. In this connection, the Assembly will also consider proposals to reform the General Committee. 2. The work of the Main Committees of the General Assembly might benefit if it is scheduled over two substantive periods during the session. The rescheduling of the work of the Main Committees should not lead to additional costs, additional or longer meetings, or staggered work schedules of the Main Committees. With a view to enabling the Assembly to consider changes in this regard, with effect from the sixtieth session of the Assembly, the Secretary-General is requested to present, by 1 February 2004, various options for consideration by the General Committee, taking into account the requirements of the relevant intergovernmental bodies and the different locations of their meetings and the budget cycle. The General Committee shall hold open-ended discussions on the options presented by the Secretary-General before making recommendations to the Assembly for its decision by 1 July 2004. 3. The General Assembly will consider convening more interactive debates. At the beginning of each session, the General Committee, following recommendations from the President of the Status of Implementation The General Assembly at its 58th session, on 1 July 2004, adopted resolution 58/316, by which it inter alia decided on a number of measures with regard to the reform of the General Committee (see below annex II). In response to this request, the Secretariat circulated a note entitled "Options for the rescheduling of the Main Committees of the General Assembly" (A/58/CRP.3) which the General Assembly considered at its 58th session (see annex II below). At the 58th and 59th session, the General Committee held a number of briefings open to all Member States. The President of the 60th session, in accordance with resolution 59/313 (see annex III below), proposed, in 4 27 February 2006 General Assembly, shall recommend to the Assembly a programme of, and format for, interactive debates during that session on items on its agenda. 4. With a view to better conceptualization of the content of the agenda of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General is requested to submit to the Assembly, for its consideration by 1 March 2004, an illustrative agenda of the Assembly, based on all the agenda items of the fifty-eighth session, organized around the priorities of the Organization for the period 2002­2005.1 The General Committee shall hold open-ended discussions on the illustrative agenda before making recommendations on the matter to the Assembly for its decision by 1 July 2004. 5. It would be advantageous for the General Assembly to have a shorter agenda to ensure the fullest discussion of all issues, so that its decisions may have greater impact. Accordingly, the President of the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session, in consultation with the SecretaryGeneral, and following consultations with concerned Member States, is requested to make proposals for the further biennialization, triennialization, clustering and elimination of items of the customary agenda of the Assembly for the consideration of the General Committee by 1 consultation with Member States, to hold an interactive debate on the theme "health and development". In response to this request the Secretariat circulated a note entitled "Illustrative agenda of the General Assembly" (A/58/CRP.4) which the General Assembly considered at its 58th session (see annex II below). Subsequent to adoption of resolution 58/126, the Secretariat circulated a note entitled "Analysis of the agenda of the General Assembly" which was considered by the General Committee in open-ended informal consultations (see annex II below). For the priorities of the Organization for the period 2002­2005: (a) Maintenance of international peace and security; (b) Promotion of sustained economic growth and sustainable development in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and recent United Nations conferences; (c) Development of Africa; (d) Promotion of human rights; (e) Effective coordination of humanitarian assistance efforts; (f) Promotion of justice and international law; (g) Disarmament; (h) Drug control, crime prevention and combating international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, see paragraph 26 of the introduction to the medium-term plan for the period 2002­2005 (Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 6 (A/55/6/Rev.1)) adopted in resolution 55/234. 5 27 February 2006 1 April 2004. The General Committee shall hold open-ended discussions on the proposals before making recommendations on the matter to the Assembly for its decision by 1 July 2004. 6. General Assembly resolutions should be more concise, focused and action-oriented. Where practical, more actions taken by the Assembly should be in the form of decisions. Preambular paragraphs in resolutions of the Assembly should normally be kept to the minimum. 7. The heavy volume of documentation that is submitted to the General Assembly for its consideration should be reduced. In this regard, the Secretary-General is requested to continue his efforts to make proposals to Member States for the consolidation of reports on related subjects in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 20 of resolution 57/300. The proposals on a shorter agenda should be accompanied by related proposals for a reduction in the volume of documentation. 8. The Main Committees of the General Assembly are bound by the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, although they have different practices and working methods. With a view to identifying best practices and working methods, and recognizing the ongoing efforts of the Main Committees to streamline their work, the SecretaryGeneral, drawing on the experience of previous Chairmen of the Main Committees, is requested to submit a historical and analytical note on the practices and working methods of the Main Committees for the consideration of the General Committee by 1 April 2004. The General Committee shall hold open-ended discussions on the note before making recommendations on the matter to the Assembly for its decision by 1 July 2004. 9. In accordance with paragraph 2 (a) Numerous resolutions and decisions at the 58th, 59th and 60th sessions have adhered to this request. See annex II below (section D, paragraph 4 (l)) In response to this request, the Secretariat circulated a note entitled "Historical and analytical note on the practices and working methods of the Main Committees" (A/58/CRP.5) which was considered by the General Committee in open-ended informal consultations (see annex II below). Implemented as of the 58th session. 6 27 February 2006 and (c) of resolution 56/509, the General Assembly elects the President of the Assembly, the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly, and the Chairmen of the Main Committees at least three months before the opening of the session in which they will serve. In order to foster better advance planning and preparation of the work of the Main Committees, the full Bureaux of the Main Committees shall similarly be elected three months in advance of the next session. 7 27 February 2006 II. Resolution 58/316 of 1 July 2004 In resolution 58/316, the General Assembly decided to adopt the text contained in the annex to the resolution; determined to continue with efforts for the revitalization of its work; and requested the Secretary-General to report on all aspects of the implementation of resolution 58/126 and resolution 58/316 to the General Assembly at its sixtieth session. Operative Paragraph A. Reordering the work of the General Assembly 1. Recalling section B, paragraph 2, of the annex to General Assembly resolution 58/126 of 19 December 2003, and having reviewed the note by the Secretariat entitled "Options for the rescheduling of the Main Committees of the General Assembly",2 it is decided that: (a) The consideration of the implementation of paragraph 2 of section B of the annex to resolution 58/126 shall be deferred until its fifty-ninth session, taking into account the views expressed as well as the suggestions made by Member States in the context of the deliberations of the openended meetings of the General Committee during the fifty-eighth session; (b) With effect from the fiftyninth session of the General Assembly, the meetings of the plenary Assembly shall normally be held on Mondays and Thursdays. B. Organization of the agenda of the General Assembly 2. Recalling section B, paragraph 4, of the annex to resolution 58/126, and having reviewed the note by the Secretariat entitled "Illustrative agenda of the General Assembly",3 and taking into account the views expressed by Member States on the matter, it is decided that: (a) Pursuant to paragraph 4 of section B of the annex to resolution 58/126, 2 3 Status of Implementation (a) Action completed. (b) Action completed. (a) As of the 59th session, the agenda of the General Assembly has been organized A/58/CRP.3. A/58/CRP.4. 4 Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 6 (A/55/6/Rev.1). 8 27 February 2006 the agenda of the General Assembly shall be organized under headings corresponding to the priorities of the Organization, as contained in the medium-term plan for the period 2002­20054 (or in the strategic framework, as appropriate), with an additional heading for "Organizational, administrative and other matters" for the purpose of giving a sense of structure to the work of the Assembly, achieving a better presentation of the issues and challenges with which the Assembly deals and making the work of the Assembly more accessible, with the understanding that the new arrangement will not prejudge the way in which the work of the Assembly is organized and carried out; (b) The headings of the agenda shall consequently be: (i) Maintenance of international peace and security; (ii) Promotion of sustained economic growth and sustainable development in accordance with the resolutions of the General Assembly and recent United Nations conferences; (iii) Development of Africa; (iv) Promotion of human rights; (v) Effective coordination of humanitarian assistance efforts; (vi) Promotion of justice and international law; (vii) Disarmament; (viii) Drug control, crime prevention and combating international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations; (ix) Organizational, administrative and other matters; (c) The General Committee shall make recommendations, after consultation with Member States, to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session on the placement of the agenda items for the fifty-ninth session under the headings set out above, with a view to making the under headings corresponding to the priorities of the Organization, as contained in the medium-term plan for the period 2002-2005 (or in the strategic framework, as appropriate), with an additional heading I, entitled "Organizational, administrative and other matters". (b) see (a) above. (c) Action completed. 9 27 February 2006 new arrangement effective; (d) The provisions of the present section shall be reviewed by the General Assembly at its sixty-first session with a view to making further improvements, as appropriate. C. Practices and working methods of the Main Committees 3. Recalling section B, paragraph 8, of the annex to resolution 58/126, and having reviewed the note by the Secretariat entitled "Historical and analytical note on the practices and working methods of the Main Committees",5 recalling that the Main Committees are bound by the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, and taking into account the views expressed by Member States on the matter, it is decided that: (a) Each Main Committee shall give specific attention to the rationalization of their future agendas by the biennialization, triennialization, clustering and elimination of items, and make recommendations to the plenary Assembly for its decision by 1 April 2005; (b) Each Main Committee shall adopt a provisional programme of work at the end of the session for the next session to help them better to plan, prepare and organize and, in this context, review the related documentation requirements; (c) The practice of interactive debates and panel discussions shall be utilized or expanded, as appropriate, by all Main Committees so as to enhance informal, in-depth discussions and to bring together experts from various fields without prejudicing the progress of the substantive work of the Main Committees; (d) The practice of "question time" shall be introduced, as appropriate, in all Main Committees to enable a dynamic 5 (d) The provisions of the organization of the agenda of the General Assembly will be reviewed at the 61st session of the General Assembly. (a) In response to this request, the Main Committees at the 59th and 60th sessions made recommendations to the Assembly. Further consideration expected at the ad hoc working group established in accordance with resolution 59/313. (b) Implemented as of the 59th session. (c) Implemented by the Main Committees as of the 59th session. (d) Implemented by a number of the Main A/58/CRP.5. 10 27 February 2006 and candid exchange with heads of departments and offices, representatives of the Secretary-General and special rapporteurs; (e) The web sites of the Main Committees shall be enhanced and thereafter regularly updated and their content maintained by the secretariats of the Main Committees; (f) The bureaux-elect of the Main Committees shall meet immediately after their election in order to discuss the organization and division of their work; (g) With a view to ensuring the continuity and the effective organization of their work, the incoming bureaux of the Main Committees shall, no later than two weeks after their election, meet with the outgoing bureaux in order to consult on and review issues relating to the efficient functioning of the Main Committees; (h) Prior to the opening of each session, informal briefings of each Main Committee shall be convened to discuss the organization of work. D. Review of the agenda of the General Assembly 4. Recalling section B, paragraph 5, of the annex to resolution 58/126, having reviewed the note by the Secretariat entitled "Analysis of the agenda of the General Assembly",6 which provides factual information on the frequency of consideration, origin and history of action on the 333 items and sub-items on the agenda, taking into account the views expressed by Member States, and following consultations with concerned Member States, it is decided that: (a) The items entitled "Launching of global negotiations on international economic cooperation for development" and "Restructuring and revitalization of the United Nations in the 6 Committees as of the 59th session. (e) The web sites of the Main Committees continue to be enhanced and regularly updated by the respective secretariats. (f) Implemented as of the 58th session. (g) Implemented by most of the Main Committees as of the 58th session. (h) Implemented as of the 59th session. The provisions of this paragraph have been fully implemented as of the 59th session. A/58/CRP.6. 11 27 February 2006 economic, social and related fields" shall be eliminated from the agenda; (b) The items entitled "Question of Cyprus", "Armed aggression against the Democratic Republic of the Congo", "Question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)", "The situation of democracy and human rights in Haiti", "Armed Israeli aggression against the Iraqi nuclear installations and its grave consequences for the established international system concerning the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and international peace and security", "Consequences of the Iraqi occupation of and aggression against Kuwait", and "Declaration of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity on the aerial and naval military attack against the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya by the present United States Administration in April 1986" shall remain on the agenda for consideration upon notification by a Member State; (c) The item entitled "Report of the Economic and Social Council" shall be considered in its entirety in plenary; (d) While remaining on the agenda of the plenary, the sub-item entitled "Sport for peace and development: Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal" shall be considered every other year and the items entitled "Return or restitution of cultural property to the countries of origin" and "Elimination of unilateral extraterritorial coercive economic measures as a means of political and economic compulsion" shall be considered every three years; (e) The item entitled "Information and communication technologies for development" and the subitem entitled "Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster 12 27 February 2006 relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance: Special economic assistance to individual countries or regions" shall be allocated for annual consideration in the Second Committee; (f) The item entitled "Towards global partnerships" shall be allocated for consideration every other year in the Second Committee; (g) The sub-item entitled "Strengthening of the coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief assistance of the United Nations, including special economic assistance: Participation of volunteers, `White Helmets', in the activities of the United Nations in the field of humanitarian relief, rehabilitation and technical cooperation for development" shall be allocated for consideration every three years in the Second Committee; (h) The item entitled "Global road safety crisis" shall be allocated for consideration every other year in the Third Committee; (i) The item entitled "Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples" shall be allocated for annual consideration in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee); (j) The item entitled "Assistance in mine action" shall be allocated for consideration every other year in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee); (k) The item entitled "University for Peace" shall be allocated for consideration every three years in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee); (l) Bearing in mind that the General Assembly decided in resolution 55/285 of 7 September 2001 to cluster all cooperation items under one item, to make 13 27 February 2006 individual cooperation items sub-items and to hold a joint debate for all sub-items, the Secretary-General shall submit a single consolidated report under the item entitled "Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and other organizations"; (m) The adjustments outlined in the paragraphs above shall take effect beginning with the fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly; (n) The General Assembly shall monitor the effects of the adjustments outlined in the paragraphs above and continue to make efforts, as appropriate, to further streamline the agenda of the plenary. E. General Committee 5. Recalling section B, paragraph 1, of the annex to resolution 58/126, having conducted a review of the work of the General Committee, and taking into account the views expressed by Member States on the matter, it is decided that: (a) The work of the General Committee shall be carried out in accordance with section VI of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly; (b) The General Committee shall continue to meet throughout the session and to play the leading role in advising the General Assembly on the efficient organization, coordination and management of its work; (c) To ensure the effective implementation of rule 42 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, the General Committee shall meet regularly throughout the session with the bureaux of the Main Committees to review the progress of the work of the Main Committees and to make recommendations for furthering such progress; (d) In July of each year, the General Committee shall conduct a review of the proposed programme of work for the forthcoming session of the General (n) Further consideration expected by the ad hoc working group established in accordance with resolution 59/313. (a) No action required. (b) Since the adoption of the present resolution, the General Committee met throughout the sessions of the General Assembly and played its leading role in advising the Assembly in the organization of its work. (c) Since the adoption of the present resolution, the General Committee has met regularly throughout the session to ensure the effective implementation of rule 42 of the rules of procedure. Main Committee Chairmen regularly briefed General Committee on the work of their Committees. (d) In response to this request the Secretary-General has submitted a report at the 58th and the 59th sessions of the General Assembly, including the requested 14 27 February 2006 Assembly, on the basis of a report to be submitted by the Secretary-General, and submit recommendations on the matter to the forthcoming Assembly. The report of the Secretary-General shall include information on the status of documentation to be issued during the forthcoming session; (e) The General Committee, meeting in open-ended consultations, shall continue to consider the further biennialization, triennialization, clustering and elimination of items of the customary agenda of the General Assembly and make recommendations thereon to the Assembly during its fifty-ninth session; (f) On the basis of proposals from the President of the General Assembly, and in the light of the positive experience during the fifty-eighth session, the General Committee shall be encouraged, as appropriate, to continue to schedule informal briefings on topical issues; (g) At the beginning of each session, the General Committee, following recommendations from the President of the General Assembly, shall recommend to the Assembly a programme of, and format for, interactive debates on the items on its agenda; (h) The General Committee shall continue to consider ways and means to further improve its working methods to increase its efficiency and effectiveness in all aspects, and make recommendations on the matter to the General Assembly for its decision by 1 April 2005. F. Documentation 6. In the light of its decision in section B, paragraph 7, of the annex to resolution 58/126 that the heavy volume of documentation that is submitted to the General Assembly for its consideration 7 information on the status of documentation (see A/58/864 and A/59/860). (e) Since the adoption of this resolution, the General Committee has made no recommendations to the General Assembly on the biennialization, triennialization, clustering and elimination of items of the Assembly's customary agenda. (f) At the 58th and 59th sessions, the General Committee held a number of informal briefings on topical issues. (g) Since the adoption of this resolution, the General Committee has made no recommendations to the General Assembly on a programme of interactive debates on the items on its agenda. (h) The General Committee continues to consider ways and means to of improving its working methods. A/58/CRP.7. 15 27 February 2006 should be reduced, the Secretary-General is requested: (a) To update the note by the Secretariat, entitled "Control and limitation of documentation",7 in the light of the provisions of the present resolution; (b) To submit the updated version of the note by the Secretariat for the consideration of the General Committee, meeting in open-ended consultations, so that it may make recommendations to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session; (c) To take the necessary action to initiate the implementation of the provisions of paragraph 20 of resolution 57/300 of 20 December 2002, in which the General Assembly requested the SecretaryGeneral to start, on a trial basis, a consultative process with the President of the General Assembly and the Chairmen of the Main Committees of the Assembly at the end of the main part of each session of the Assembly, with a view to consolidating reports on related subjects, if decided by the Main Committees. (a) Note will be updated as soon as new relevant information becomes available. (b) The General Committee at the 59th session did not make any recommendations to the General Assembly. (c) Since the adoption of this resolution, a number of reports, where appropriate, have been considered. 16 27 February 2006 III. Resolution 59/313 of 12 September 2005 Operative Paragraph Role and authority of the General Assembly 1. Stresses the need to demonstrate political will to ensure the effective implementation of the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly; 2. Decides, in the context of further strengthening the role and authority of the General Assembly as set out in the Charter of the United Nations: (a) To convene and organize major thematic debates in order to establish broad international understanding on current substantive issues of importance to Member States; (b) To discuss issues pertaining to the maintenance of international peace and security in accordance with Articles 10, 11, 12, 14 and 35 of the Charter, where appropriate using the procedures set forth in rules 7, 8, 9 and 10 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, which enable swift and urgent action by the Assembly, bearing in mind that the Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security in accordance with Article 24 of the Charter; (c) To consider the annual reports as well as special reports of the Security Council, in accordance with Article 15, paragraph 1, and Article 24, paragraph 3, of the Charter, through substantive and interactive debates; (d) To invite the Security Council to submit periodically, in accordance with Article 24 of the Charter, special subject-oriented reports to the General Assembly for its consideration on issues of current international concern; (e) To also invite the Security Council to update the General Assembly on Status of Implementation Action completed. (a) The President of the 60th session of the General Assembly has scheduled to hold a major thematic debate on the theme of health and development (see also below 3). (b) The General Assembly has a number of items on its agenda that fall under the Articles listed. Since the adoption of the present resolution, the General Assembly has not convened in special or emergency special session. (c) Since the adoption of the present resolution, the General Assembly, at its meetings on 2005, considered the annual report of the Security Council. (d) No such reports were submitted since. (e) No such update has been provided to the General Assembly since. 17 27 February 2006 a regular basis on the steps it has taken or is contemplating with respect to improving its reporting to the Assembly; (f) To hold interactive debates on other reports submitted to the General Assembly in accordance with Article 15, paragraph 2, of the Charter; President of the General Assembly 3. Decides to strengthen the role and leadership of the President of the General Assembly by: (a) Authorizing the President of the General Assembly to propose interactive debates on current issues on the agenda of the Assembly, in consultation with Member States; (b) Augmenting the resources available to the Office of the President of the General Assembly from within existing resources, subject to consideration by the Assembly of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2006­2007, to provide for two further additional posts at management and senior levels to be filled on an annual basis following consultations with the incoming President, beginning at the sixtieth session of the Assembly; (c) Making available to the President of the General Assembly adequate office and conference space with a view to enabling the President to carry out his/her functions in a manner commensurate with the dignity and stature of the Office; (d) Requesting the SecretaryGeneral to ensure that the President of the General Assembly is provided with proper protocol services at Headquarters and at other United Nations duty stations; Agenda and working methods of the plenary Assembly and the Main Committees 4. Decides to establish an ad hoc working group open to all Member States to identify ways to further enhance the role, authority, effectiveness and efficiency of (f) Since the adoption of the present resolution, the General Assembly has considered a number of reports submitted in accordance with the Article mentioned. (a) The President of the 60th session, in consultation with Member States, proposed an interactive debate on the theme health and development. (b) Action completed. (c) The President has been disposed with adequate office space. (d) In response to this request, decisions have been initiated between the Office of the President and the Protocol Office. The 1st meeting of the ad hoc working group was held on 16 February 2006. 18 27 February 2006 the General Assembly, inter alia, by building on relevant Assembly resolutions and reviewing the agenda and working methods of the Assembly; 5. Decides also that the ad hoc working group shall submit a report with specific recommendations to the General Assembly at its sixtieth session; 6. Requests the Secretary-General to provide the ad hoc working group with the necessary services; 7. Encourages the Main Committees to implement in full the provisions contained in paragraph 3 of the annex to resolution 58/316 of 1 July 2004, building upon the results of relevant discussions in each Committee; 8. Encourages the bureaux of the Main Committees to enhance their cooperation and to learn from each other's best practices; 9. Requests the Chairpersons of the Main Committees, at the end of their terms of office, to provide a short report on their observations and "lessons learned" to their immediate successors; 10. Decides that time limits on speeches in the plenary Assembly and in the Main Committees shall be applied in accordance with rules 72 and 114 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly; 11. Strongly urges all officers presiding over meetings of the General Assembly to start such meetings on time; 12. Encourages the holding of interactive debates with a view to contributing to intergovernmental decisionmaking; 13. Invites Member States that are aligned with statements already made by the chair of a group of Member States, where possible, to focus additional interventions that they make in their national capacity on points that have not already been adequately addressed in the Report will be issued during the 60th session. The ad hoc working group is provided by the Secretary-General with the necessary services. Action completed. Action completed. Due to the date of adoption of the resolution at the 59th session, the first reports of the Chairpersons of the Main Committees to their immediate successors are expected at the end of the 60th session. Implementation of rules 72 and 114 by the respective chairperson. Action completed. See 3 above. To be implemented by Member States aligned with statements by major groupings. 19 27 February 2006 statements of the group in question, bearing in mind the sovereign right of each Member State to express its national position; 14. Requests the Secretary-General to issue the rules of procedure of the General Assembly in a consolidated version in all official languages, in print and online; 15. Recommends consideration of the use of optical scanners as a means of expediting the counting of votes cast through secret ballots during elections, taking due account of the security requirements in this regard and the credibility, reliability and confidentiality of such means, and requests the SecretaryGeneral to report on the modalities thereof to the General Assembly through the Committee on Conferences; Documentation 16. Requests the Secretary-General to implement further the measures set out in paragraph 20 of resolution 57/300 of 20 December 2002 on the consolidation of reports and in paragraph 6 of the annex to resolution 58/316, on documentation; 17. Encourages Member States, when seeking additional information, to request that they be provided with the information either orally or, if in writing, in the form of information sheets, annexes, tables and the like, and encourages the wider use of this practice; 18. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that documentation and reports are issued well in advance, in keeping with the six-week rule for the issuance of documentation simultaneously in all official languages, as set out in resolution 49/221 B of 23 December 1994 and in resolution 59/309 of 22 June 2005 on multilingualism; 19. Also requests the Secretary-General to submit a status report to the General Assembly at its sixtieth session on the implementation of all resolutions regarding Under consideration, pending availability of resources. Under consideration. Also expected to be considered by the ad hoc working group. Under consideration. To be implemented by Member States. In response to this request, the USG DGACM and the SG have entered into the Compact 2006 which provides for zero tolerance on late submission of documents. In preparation. 20 27 February 2006 the revitalization of its work, including resolutions 58/126 of 19 December 2003 and 58/316 and the present resolution. 21