Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly

A/RES/66/294View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 121 Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly, published in 2012.

What other versions does this mandate have?

20 versions · 1992–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/79/327

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/79/327	Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly	4,131	19%Compare
2023	A/RES/77/335	Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly	7,262	38%Compare
2021	A/RES/75/325	Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly	5,917	9%Compare
2020	A/RES/74/303	Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly	656	12%Compare
2019	A/RES/73/341	Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly	3,957	25%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

6 reports · 2011–2019

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2019	A/73/723	Opening of the regular sessions of the General Assembly report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/72/313
2018	A/72/736	Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/71/323
2017	A/71/780	Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/70/305
2016	A/70/681	Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/69/321
2013	A/67/710	Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/66/294

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 subjects

Appointment of Officials Information Dissemination Information Exchange Organizational Change Report Preparation

What’s in this document?

38 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the report of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly;²

²A/66/891.

Decides to establish, at its sixty-seventh session, an ad hoc working group on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly, open to all Member States:

To identify further ways to enhance the role, authority, effectiveness and efficiency of the Assembly, inter alia, by building on the progress achieved in past sessions as well as on previous resolutions, including evaluating the status of their implementation;

To submit a report thereon to the Assembly at its sixty-seventh session;

Also decides that the Ad Hoc Working Group shall continue its review of the inventory of General Assembly resolutions on revitalization annexed to the report of the Ad Hoc Working Group submitted at the sixty-third session of the Assembly,³ and, as a result, issue an updated version of the inventory to be attached to the report of the Ad Hoc Working Group at the sixty-seventh session, and also requests the Secretary-General to submit an update on the provisions of the Assembly resolutions on revitalization addressed to the Secretariat for implementation that have not been implemented, with an indication of the constraints and reasons behind any lack of implementation, for further consideration by the Ad Hoc Working Group at the sixty-seventh session;

³A/63/959.

Role and authority of the General Assembly

Reaffirms the role and authority of the General Assembly, including on questions relating to international peace and security, in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 and 35 of the Charter of the United Nations, where appropriate, using the procedures set forth in rules 7 to 10 of the rules of procedure of the 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;

Takes note of recent developments in the General Assembly with regard to responses to emerging challenges and current events of common concern to the international community, and stresses the need for the Assembly to further actively undertake its role regarding those challenges and events and respond effectively;

Welcomes the initiative taken by the President of the General Assembly for the Assembly at its sixty-sixth session to identify the peaceful settlement of disputes as one of the main areas of focus and select “The role of mediation in the settlement of disputes by peaceful means” as the main theme for the session;

Also welcomes the holding of thematic debates on current issues of critical importance to the international community and their interactive inclusive character, and invites the President of the General Assembly to continue this practice and to consult with Member States on the possibilities for achieving, where appropriate, results-oriented outcomes in such debates;

Recognizes the importance and benefit of continuing interaction between the General Assembly and international or regional forums and organizations dealing with global matters of concern to the international community in the perspective of the revitalization of the work of the Assembly;

Welcomes the continued practice of holding periodic informal briefings by the Secretary-General on his priorities, travels and most recent activities, including his participation in international meetings and events organized outside the United Nations, and encourages him to continue with this practice;

Stresses the importance of ensuring increased cooperation, coordination and exchange of information among the principal organs, and welcomes the holding of regular meetings of the President of the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session with the Secretary-General and the Presidents of the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council, as well as with the Chairs of subsidiary bodies, and briefings to Member States on the outcomes of these meetings on a regular basis, and encourages the continuation of such practice;

Welcomes the improvements that have been made in the quality of the annual reports of the Security Council to the General Assembly, encourages the Council to make further improvements as necessary, and takes note of the holding of informal meetings of the President of the Council with all Member States before the preparation of the report;

Notes that, in accordance with Article 15 and Article 24, paragraph 3, of the Charter, the Security Council shall submit to the General Assembly an annual report and, when necessary, special reports for its consideration;

Recognizes that non-implementation of various General Assembly resolutions, in particular those adopted by consensus, may diminish the role and authority of the Assembly, and underlines the important role and responsibility of Member States in their implementation;

Urges the Secretariat to continue its efforts to raise the visibility of the General Assembly, reaffirms paragraph 15 of resolution 60/286, and decides that the announcements about the work of the principal organs of the United Nations should appear in the Journal of the United Nations in the order stipulated in Article 7 of the Charter;

Also urges the Secretariat to disseminate, in addition to the current practice of e-mail, important official letters and notifications to all Permanent Missions through fax messages;

Working methods

Welcomes the briefings by the Chairs of the Main Committees who briefed the Ad Hoc Working Group on the discussions on working methods held in their respective Committees during the sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly;

Also welcomes the convening by the President of the General Assembly at the sixty-sixth session of a brainstorming session on the working methods of the Fifth Committee;

Requests that the General Assembly and its Main Committees, at the sixty-seventh session, in consultation with Member States, continue consideration of and make proposals for the further biennialization, triennialization, clustering and elimination of items on the agenda of the Assembly, taking into account the relevant recommendations of the Ad Hoc Working Group, including through the introduction of a sunset clause, with the clear consent of the sponsoring State or States;

Encourages each Main Committee to further discuss its working methods at the sixty-seventh session, and invites the Chairs of the Main Committees, at the sixty-seventh session, to brief the Ad Hoc Working Group, as appropriate, on the discussions on the working methods;

Notes with appreciation that the high-level meetings held at the United Nations give more visibility to very important topics, while mindful of the need to facilitate full participation of all Member States and to preserve the integrity of the general debate in September, and reiterates its invitation to the Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly and the Chairs of the Main Committees, in consultation with Member States, to enhance the coordination of the scheduling of high-level meetings with a view to optimizing the number and distribution of such events;

Encourages Member States, United Nations bodies and the Secretariat to continue to consult on the consolidation of documentation in order to avoid duplication of work, to exercise the fullest possible discipline in striving for concise resolutions, reports and other documentation, inter alia, by referring to previous documents rather than repeating actual content, and to focus on key themes, and calls upon them to observe existing submission deadlines so as to allow for the timely processing of documents to be examined by intergovernmental bodies;

Recalls its resolution 66/81 of 9 December 2011, in which it noted the efforts of the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat to continue to publicize the work and decisions of the General Assembly and requested the Department to continue to enhance its working relationship with the Office of the President of the General Assembly, and stresses the importance of further enhancing public and media awareness of the work and decisions of the Assembly, including through their timely issuance and distribution in all official languages;

Encourages Member States to make full use of the e-services provided by the Secretariat, taking into account the cost savings and the reduced environmental impact that may accrue from this exercise, in order to improve the quality and distribution of documents;

Decides that the Ad Hoc Working Group shall remain apprised of options for more time-effective, efficient and secure balloting, reiterating the need to ascertain the credibility, reliability and confidentiality of the balloting process, and requests the Secretariat to submit an update in case of any new technological developments, on the understanding that the adoption of any new balloting system in the future will require a decision of the plenary of the General Assembly;

Selection and appointment of the Secretary-General and other executive heads

Reaffirms its commitment to continue, in the Ad Hoc Working Group, in accordance with the provisions of Article 97 of the Charter, its consideration of the revitalization of the role of the General Assembly in the selection and appointment of the Secretary-General, and calls for the full implementation of all relevant resolutions, including resolutions 11 (I) of 24 January 1946, 51/241, 60/286, in particular paragraphs 17 to 22 of the annex thereto, and 64/301;

Recognizes that the process of selecting and appointing the Secretary-General differs from the process used with regard to other executive heads in the United Nations system, given the role of the Security Council in accordance with Article 97 of the Charter, and re-emphasizes the need for the process of selection of the Secretary-General to be transparent and inclusive of all Member States;

Takes note of the recommendation contained in the report of the Joint Inspection Unit on the selection and conditions of service of executive heads in the United Nations system organizations proposing that the General Assembly conduct hearings or meetings with candidates running for the post of Secretary-General of the United Nations;⁴

⁴See A/65/71.

Strengthening the institutional memory of the Office of the President of the General Assembly

Welcomes the views expressed by the President of the General Assembly and the Office of the President of the General Assembly to the Ad Hoc Working Group on the strengthening of the institutional memory of the Office of the President of the Assembly and its relationship with the Secretariat;

Also welcomes the periodic briefings by the President of the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session to Member States on his recent activities, including official travels, and encourages the continuation of such practice;

Further welcomes the measures already undertaken to strengthen the institutional memory of the Office of the President of the General Assembly;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit, in the context of the proposed programme budget for the biennium 2014–2015, proposals to review the budget allocation to the Office of the President of the General Assembly in accordance with existing procedures;

Notes that the activities of the President of the General Assembly have increased markedly in recent years, recalls provisions regarding support for the Office of the President of the Assembly in previous resolutions, expresses continued interest in seeking ways to further support the Office, in accordance with existing procedures, in particular rule 153 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, and in this context looks forward to the submission by the Secretary-General of his proposals pursuant to paragraph 32 of resolution 66/246 of 24 December 2011;

Underlines the importance of the contributions of Member States to the Trust Fund in support of the Office of the President of the General Assembly, notes in this regard that no contributions were made to the Fund during the sixty-sixth session of the Assembly, and invites Member States to consider contributing to the Fund;

Requests the Secretary-General, at the sixty-seventh session of the General Assembly, to report on the funding and staffing of the Office of the President of the Assembly, including on any technical, logistical, protocol-related or financial questions;

Notes the concerns raised on the protocol arrangements in place for the President of the General Assembly, and requests the Secretary-General to further endeavour to ensure, within agreed resources, that the President is provided with proper protocol and security services and adequate office space, with a view to enabling the President to carry out his or her functions in a manner commensurate with the dignity and stature of the Office;

Emphasizes the need to ensure, within agreed resources, that the Office of the President of the General Assembly is allocated dedicated staff within the Secretariat with responsibility for coordinating the transition between Presidents, managing interactions between the President of the Assembly and the Secretary-General and the retention of institutional memory, and requests the outgoing Presidents of the Assembly to brief their successors on the lessons learned and best practices.