winter session to review all the mandates. If there was no agreement on a new mandate, that would mean that the previous one was still valid. Of course, during the rest of the time it would be possible to hold informal consultations concerning mandates, as was recently done, for example, under the leadership of Ambassador Donowaki in connection with the searches for agreement concerning agenda item 1. Second, the membership of the ad hoc committees need not necessarily correspond 100 per cent to that of the Conference. A more flexible approach is possible here, based on States' interest in work in specific areas. However, it is important that all the members of the Conference should be in CD/PV.563 7 (Mr, Batsanov, USSR) agreement in principle with the carrying out of the work. Generally speaking, the Conference should have the possibility of changing the membership and functions of its working bodies depending on the tasks at hand. It would also be a good idea to provide for the participation of all interested States in the negotiating process on an equal footing. To that end, thought might be given to making the rights of observers in ad hoc committees equal to those of members of the Conference, or, in any event, to doing so in those ad hoc committees which have negotiating mandates. We also believe that, once we have accepted someone as an observer, there is no need to reconsider that decision every year. In saying this, of course, we proceed from the belief that neither the Conference nor its working bodies should be turned into mere places of passage. Another very important question is how effectively we use our time. Frankly, the Secretariat's figures for the time we have lost through late starting and early adjournment of meetings do not worry me very much, although 
**Analysis**
This text appears to be a diplomatic document discussing the organization and functioning of a conference, specifically mentioning the use of time, membership of ad hoc committees, and participation of states. The language used is formal and technical, suggesting that the topic is likely related to international relations or diplomacy. The text does not mention specific economic, environmental, or social issues, but rather focuses on the procedural aspects of the conference.

**Category**
International relations