Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly

A/RES/67/297View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 116 Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly, published in 2013.

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?

3 subjects

Appointment of Officials Conference and Meeting Services Organizational Change

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, and the updated inventory of General Assembly resolutions on revitalization annexed thereto;³

³A/67/936.

Decides to establish, at its sixty-eighth 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-eighth 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-seventh session of the Assembly, and, as a result, continue to update the inventory to be attached to the report at the sixty-eighth session, and 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-eighth session;

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 the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, in accordance with Article 24 of the Charter;

Recognizes that non-implementation of General Assembly resolutions, including those related to the revitalization of its work, may diminish the role, authority, effectiveness and efficiency of the Assembly, and underlines the important role and responsibility of Member States in their implementation;

Welcomes the initiative by the President of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session to select “Bringing about adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations by peaceful means” as the overarching theme for the session, with a view to highlighting the role of the Assembly in conflict prevention and resolution;

Recognizes the value of holding interactive inclusive thematic debates on current issues of critical importance to the international community, and invites the President of the General Assembly to continue this practice and to consult with the General Committee and Member States on the preliminary programme of such debates as well as on the possibilities for achieving, where appropriate, results-oriented and productive outcomes of such debates, and to recommend to the Assembly, at the beginning of each session, the preliminary programme;

Also 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, as well as with civil society, as and where appropriate, while fully respecting the intergovernmental nature of the Assembly, in conformity with its relevant rules of procedure;

Reaffirms that the relationship between the principal organs of the United Nations is mutually reinforcing and complementary, in accordance with their respective functions and powers as enshrined in the Charter, and in this regard stresses the importance of ensuring increased cooperation, coordination and the exchange of information among the Presidents of the principal organs and also with the Secretariat of the United Nations, in particular the Secretary-General;

Welcomes the improvement in the quality of the annual reports of the Security Council to the General Assembly, and encourages the Council to make further improvement as necessary;

Encourages the Secretariat, including the Department of Public Information, to continue its efforts to raise the visibility of the General Assembly and to enhance world public and media awareness of its work, and in this regard recalls paragraph 10 of its resolution 67/124 B of 18 December 2012, in which it noted the efforts of the Department 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;

Working methods

Welcomes the briefings by the Chairs of the Main Committees of the General Assembly to the Ad Hoc Working Group about the working methods of their respective Committees during the sixty-seventh session of the Assembly, and in this regard encourages the Main Committees:

To ensure adequate coordination in their work while avoiding overlap and duplication;

To elect the bureau of each Committee at least three months in advance of the session for better coordination and for a smoother hand-over of their work;

To benefit from their respective QuickPlace to facilitate the smooth organization and timely conclusion of their work;

To share experiences, best practices and lessons learned concerning their respective working methods;

Requests each Main Committee to further discuss its working methods at the beginning of every session, and in this regard invites the Chairs of the Main Committees to brief the Ad Hoc Working Group at the sixty-eighth session, as appropriate;

Stresses the importance of enhancing the role of the General Committee to support the work of the General Assembly;

Reiterates its request that the General Assembly and its Main Committees, at the sixty-eighth 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, including through the introduction of a sunset clause, with the clear consent of the sponsoring State or States, taking into account the relevant recommendations of the Ad Hoc Working Group;

Decides to establish a link devoted to the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly on the Assembly page on the United Nations website, from within existing resources, following the model of the websites of the Main Committees;

Encourages exploration of the possibility of electing the non-permanent members of the Security Council and members of the Economic and Social Council earlier than October of each year, as is currently the practice, in order to foster better advance planning and preparation before the members assume such responsibilities;

Notes with appreciation that the high-level meetings held at the United Nations give more visibility to very important topics, and, while mindful of the need to facilitate full participation of all Member States and to preserve the integrity of the general debate in September, reiterates its invitation to the Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly and the Chairs of the Main Committees, in consultation with the General Committee and Member States, to enhance the coordination of the scheduling of high-level meetings and high-level thematic debates, with a view to optimizing the number and distribution of such events, including by exploring the possibility of scheduling future high-level meetings during the early part of the year, from within existing resources, taking into account the calendar of conferences, and without prejudice to the current practices of convening high-level meetings in September at the beginning of each session of the Assembly, and convening high-level thematic debates throughout the session, as appropriate;

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 in order to allow for the timely processing of documents to be examined by intergovernmental bodies;

Urges the Secretariat, in addition to its current practice of using e-mail, to use facsimile messages to disseminate important official letters and notifications to all Permanent Missions;

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;

Requests the Ad Hoc Working Group to prepare arrangements concerning the election of Chairs and Rapporteurs of the Main Committees of the General Assembly, with the aim of establishing a predictable, transparent and fair mechanism for the elections at an early stage of the sixty-eighth session of the Assembly, and not later than six months before the start of its sixty-ninth session, and to submit them to the Assembly not later than three months before the start of its sixty-ninth session, and invites regional groups to be guided by these arrangements for the election of the Chairs and Rapporteurs of the sixty-ninth session;

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 of 31 July 1997, 60/286 of 8 September 2006, in particular paragraphs 17 to 22 of the annex thereto, and 64/301 of 13 September 2010;

Recognizes that the process of selecting and appointing the Secretary-General differs from the process used with regard to other executive heads in the organizations of 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 organizations of the United Nations system, 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

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 to review the budget allocation to the Office pursuant to paragraph 32 of resolution 66/246 of 24 December 2011 and paragraph 31 of resolution 66/294;

Encourages the Presidents of the General Assembly to continue with the practice of periodically briefing Member States on their activities, including official travels;

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, and in this regard encourages Member States to contribute to the Fund;

Requests the President of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session, in cooperation with the Secretariat, to report to the Ad Hoc Working Group on the role, mandate and activities of the President;

Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Ad Hoc Working Group at the sixty-eighth session of the General Assembly on sources of the funding and staffing of the Office of the President of the Assembly, including on any technical, logistical, protocol-related or financial questions, and for more clarification on the budgetary basis for the provision of such support by the Secretariat;

Emphasizes the need to ensure, from within agreed resources, that the Office of the President of the General Assembly is allocated dedicated Secretariat staff, with responsibility for coordinating the transition between Presidents, managing interactions between the President and the Secretary-General and the preservation of institutional memory;

Requests the outgoing Presidents of the General Assembly to brief their successors on the lessons learned and best practices, and requests the Secretariat, in coordination with the Office of the President of the Assembly, to explore the possibility of issuing a compendium of best practices of past Presidents, from within existing resources, which could serve to strengthen the institutional memory of the Office.