The General Assembly,
 
       Having considered the report of the Committee on Conferences,
 
       Recalling its relevant resolutions, including resolutions 43/222 B of
21 December 1988, 46/190 of 20 December 1991, 47/202 A to D of 22 December
1992, 48/222 A and B of 23 December 1993 and 49/221 A to D of 23 December
1994,
 
       Noting with concern the difficulties encountered by some Member States
owing to the lack of conference services for meetings of regional and other
major groupings of Member States,
 
       1.    Notes with appreciation the work of the Committee on Conferences;
 
       2.    Approves the draft calendar of conferences and meetings of the
United Nations for the biennium 1996-1997 as submitted and amended by the
Committee on Conferences;
 
       3.    Authorizes the Committee on Conferences to make adjustments in
the calendar of conferences and meetings for 1996 that may become necessary as
a result of actions and decisions taken by the General Assembly at its
fiftieth session;
 
       4.    Notes that no sessions are scheduled to open or close on 20
February and 29 April 1996, invites United Nations bodies to avoid holding
meetings on 20 February and 29 April 1996, and requests the Secretariat to
make similar arrangements when drafting the revised calendar of conferences
and meetings for 1997;
 
       5.    Invites the Economic and Social Council to continue to consider,
as appropriate, the biennialization of meetings of its subsidiary bodies;
 
       6.    Invites all bodies to exercise restraint in requesting open-ended
ad hoc meetings in view of the possible adverse effect of such meetings on the
efficient utilization of conference-servicing resources;
 
       7.    Expresses concern that the overall utilization factor for
conference services fell below the established benchmark figure of 80 per cent
in 1994; 
 
       8.    Endorses the initiatives taken by the Chairman of the Committee
on Conferences with a view to assisting bodies to achieve the optimum
utilization of conference-servicing resources and, to that effect, to assess
realistically their need for such resources;
 
       9.    Requests the Secretariat to take the measures recommended by the
Committee on Conferences to enhance utilization of conference-servicing
resources and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-first
session through the Committee;
 
       10.   Expresses concern about the underutilization of conference
facilities at duty stations outside Headquarters, and emphasizes the need to
make the most effective use possible of such facilities;
 
       11.   Requests the Chairman of the Committee on Conferences to hold
consultations with various bodies and committees to ensure rational allocation
and capacity utilization of all United Nations conference facilities at
Headquarters, United Nations Offices and other duty stations with a view to
addressing the present imbalance in order to enhance the capacity utilization
and cost-effectiveness of these facilities and to report to the Committee on
the outcome of these consultations at its substantive session of 1996;
 
       12.   Decides that the headquarters rule shall be adhered to by all
bodies, particularly those whose headquarters are underutilized;
 
       13.   Requests the Secretary-General to provide, within the resources
approved for conference services in the biennium 1996-1997, interpretation
services for meetings of regional and other major groupings of Member States
upon request by those groupings, taking into account the priority due to
meetings included in the calendar of conferences and meetings, and to submit a
report on the implementation of this decision to the General Assembly at its
fifty-first session through the Committee on Conferences.
 
                                             B
 
       The General Assembly,
 
       Recalling its resolutions on the control and limitation of
documentation, including resolutions 33/56 of 14 December 1978, 36/117 B of 10
December 1981, 37/14 C of 16 November 1982, 45/238 B of 21 December 1990,
47/202 B of 22 December 1992, 48/222 B of 23 December 1993 and 49/221 B of 23
December 1994,
 
       Encouraging all bodies entitled to written meeting records to keep
under review their need for such records,
 
       1.    Decides, pursuant to paragraph 3 of resolution 49/221 B, that the
current entitlement to meeting records of the following bodies shall be
continued:
 
       (a)   United Nations Administrative Tribunal (when holding oral
hearings);
 
       (b)   First Committee;
 
       (c)   Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People (when holding meetings in observance of international days
of solidarity proclaimed by the General Assembly);
 
       (d)   Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees;
 
       2.    Approves the recommendation of the Special Committee on the
Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting
of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples to replace its verbatim
records by summary records;
 
       3.    Notes the intention of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of
Outer Space to replace its verbatim records by unedited transcripts, and
requests the Committee to keep the General Assembly informed, through the
Committee on Conferences, of the experience of that body regarding unedited
transcripts;
 
       4.    Takes note of the decision of the Committee on Conferences
contained in paragraph 75 of its report, and requests the Committee to report
on the implementation of that decision to the General Assembly at its
fifty-first session.
 
                                             C
 
       The General Assembly,
 
       Taking note of the statement made by the representative of the
Secretary-General to the Fifth Committee on 10 October 1995 on, inter alia,
the costs of documentation,
 
       Recognizing the right of Member States, through intergovernmental
bodies, to request reports,
 
       Recognizing that Member States can contribute directly to the reduction
of documentation, which contributes to savings, through restraint in making
such requests,
 
       Recognizing also that the reduction in the demand for, and volume of,
documentation could improve the quality and timeliness of reports,
 
       Noting that Economic and Social Council decision 1995/222 of 5 May
1995, entitled "Documentation", requires Secretariat accountability regarding
seriously tardy reports,
 
       Noting also that some actions taken by the Committee on Conferences and
the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space can result in lower
documentation costs, while noting further that the political and financial
impact of such actions has to be assessed by the General Assembly,
 
       Recognizing the right of Member States to request circulation of
communications as official documents,
 
       1.    Notes with concern that the existing limits of 32 pages and 24
pages for documents prepared for intergovernmental meetings, confirmed by its
resolution 36/117 A of 10 December 1981 and endorsed by its resolution 38/32 E
of 25 November 1983, respectively, are not routinely enforced;
 
       2.    Requests the Secretary-General to enforce, where appropriate, the
existing page limits referred to in paragraph 1 above in respect of all
documents originating in the Secretariat, to review these limits, where
appropriate, with a view to achieving an overall reduction of documentation
without affecting its quality and to report thereon to the General Assembly at
its fifty-first session through the Committee on Conferences;
 
       3.    Also requests the Secretary-General to include only where
necessary brief descriptions of the history of the subjects contained in the
reports together with a reference to relevant documents, bearing in mind the
need to restrict the number of pages to the limits referred to in paragraph 1
above;
 
       4.    Further requests the Secretary-General to ensure that
documentation is available in accordance with the six-week rule for the
distribution of documents, simultaneously in each of the six official
languages of the United Nations;
 
       5.    Decides that, should a report be issued late, the reasons for the
delay should be indicated when the report is introduced;
 
       6.    Requests members of all bodies to exercise restraint in making
proposals containing requests for new reports;
 
       7.    Invites all bodies to consider the possibility of biennializing
or triennializing the presentation of reports, to review the necessity of all
recurrent documents with a view to streamlining documentation and contributing
to savings and to make appropriate recommendations;
 
       8.    Encourages members of intergovernmental bodies:
 
       (a)   To consider the possibility of requesting oral reports, without
prejudice to the provision of information to delegations in all the official
languages;
 
       (b)   To request consolidated reports on related topics under a single
item or sub-item where appropriate and cost-effective;
 
       9.    Requests the Secretary-General:
 
       (a)   To provide an oral estimate of the cost of documents or reports
requested by Member States, without prejudice to the right of
intergovernmental bodies to request such documents or reports;
 
       (b)   To seek a more reader-friendly and uniform format of reports,
taking into account new publishing technologies, that would include sections
containing the objective of the report, an executive summary, the conclusions
drawn and, as appropriate, the action proposed to be taken by the body, and to
submit proposals thereon to the General Assembly through the Committee on
Conferences;
 
       10.   Endorses the recommendation made by the Advisory Committee on
Administrative and Budgetary Questions that the Joint Inspection Unit be
requested to conduct a comprehensive survey of the role publications play in
implementing mandates of intergovernmental bodies and the extent to which
recurrent publications could be made more cost-effective in this regard;
 
       11.   Requests the Secretary-General to present to the General Assembly
at its fifty-first session, through the Committee on Conferences and the
Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, a report on the
implementation of these measures, including information on possible savings.
 
 
                                             D
 
       The General Assembly,
 
       Stressing the need to provide Member States and United Nations bodies,
upon request, with more comprehensive and accurate information on the costs of
meetings and documentation,
 
       Noting that the introduction of new technologies enhances the quality,
cost- effectiveness and efficiency of conference services,
 
       Stressing also the importance of access to, and benefit from, the
optical disk system and other new technologies in all official languages by
all Member States and the need to overcome the difficulties faced by some
Member States in acquiring the technology to access the optical disk system,
 
       1.    Requests the Secretary-General to develop as soon as possible a
comprehensive and accurate cost-accounting system for conference services, to
report on the progress of its implementation to the General Assembly through
the Committee on Conferences and to report the results of its use to the
Assembly through the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary
Questions, in accordance with their respective mandates;
 
       2.    Encourages the Secretariat to continue its efforts to improve the
cost- effectiveness of document production, without prejudice to the
international character of the Organization;
 
       3.    Also requests the Secretary-General to present proposals to the
General Assembly at its fifty-first session through the Committee on
Conferences on facilitating access by developing countries to the optical disk
system in all official languages, taking into account the possible savings
from reduced copying and distribution costs;
 
       4.    Further requests the Secretary-General, in pursuing the foregoing
efforts, to ensure that new technologies in the area of conference services
are introduced in all official languages as soon as possible in a
comprehensive manner without adverse effects on the provision of services, in
full consultation with Member States and, as appropriate, in coordination with
relevant intergovernmental bodies.
 
 
                                             E
 
       The General Assembly,
 
       Recalling all its previous resolutions on the use of languages in the
United Nations, including resolutions 2 (I) of 1 February 1946, 2247 (XXI) of
20 December 1966, 2292 (XXII) of 8 December 1967, 3189 (XXVIII), 3190 (XXVIII)
and 3191 (XXVIII) of 18 December 1973, 36/117 B of 10 December 1981, 47/202 D
of 22 December 1992, 49/221 B of 23 December 1994 and 50/11 of 2 November
1995,
 
       Recalling also its request to the Secretariat, contained in resolution
49/221 C of 23 December 1994, to continue exploring ways and means of
providing conference services in a manner that fully responds to the needs of
intergovernmental and expert bodies, while ensuring the criteria of quality
and timeliness and due respect for the principle of equal treatment of the
official languages of the United Nations as laid down in General Assembly
resolution 42/207 C of 11 December 1987,
 
       1.    Emphasizes the need for strict compliance with the resolutions
and rules establishing language arrangements for the different bodies and
organs of the United Nations;
 
       2.    Stresses the need to continue to ensure the availability of the
necessary resources to guarantee the timely translation of documents into the
different official and working languages of the Organization and their
simultaneous distribution in those languages;
 
       3.    Appreciates the fact that, through advanced technology as well as
improved management and increased productivity, the Secretariat has largely
been enabled to cope with the growth in demand for translation and
documentation services;
 
       4.    Notes the actions taken to improve the quality of translation
into all official languages, in particular the efforts of the Arabic
Translation Service to implement the proposal contained in annex II to the
report of the Committee on Conferences to the General Assembly at its
forty-ninth session, requests the Secretary-General to undertake a thorough
review of the terminology and technical methods used in translation into
Arabic, and urges the Secretariat to speed up its efforts towards the
implementation of phase II of that proposal and to report thereon to the
Committee on Conferences at its substantive session of 1996.
                                                                          1995
 
                                             F
 
       The General Assembly,
 
       Reaffirming its resolution 49/221 D of 23 December 1994,
 
       Noting with satisfaction the significant improvements in the meeting
arrangements and facilities within the United Nations premises for the holding
of bilateral meetings and contacts among Member States during the fiftieth
session of the General Assembly and during the special commemorative meeting
of the Assembly on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the United
Nations, 
 
       1.    Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General and the
Secretariat for their prompt and effective actions to implement resolution
49/221 D;
 
       2.    Requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide these
improved meeting arrangements and facilities for subsequent sessions of the
General Assembly;
 
       3.    Decides that such improved meeting arrangements and facilities
shall be made available within existing resources.