United Nations depended mainly on the dedication, competence and integrity of its staff, who, in the Organization's diverse activities throughout the world, were the most visible manifestation of its ideals and goals. Equitable geographical distribution would promote efficiency, and would mean that the Secretariat reflected the world's social, political and cultural diversity. 2. Application of the principle of equitable geographical distribution to the staff of the Secretariat should be monitored continuously by the Secretary-General, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 37/235. The report of the Secretary-General on the composition of the Secretariat (A/38/347) indicated that the number of unrepresented States had decreased from 17 in June 1982 to 14 by June 1983, but that the number of under-represented States had increased from 24 to 25 over the same period. 3. Although progress towards equitable geographical distribution was slow, the figures showed a continued improvement. Of the appointments made between 1 July 1982 and 30 June 1983, 26, or 9.4 per cent, had been of nationals of over­ represented Member States. In the view of his delegation, there should be a ban on the recruitment of candidates from over-represented countries to posts subject to geographical distribution until all countries had reached the midpoints of their desirable ranges, without which it would take ~any years to eliminate the imbalance. It was important to have the largest possible number of Member States represented at higher levels in the Secretariat. There was a particular need to increase the representation of developing countries in senior and policy­ formulating posts. The number of permanent appointments should be reduced and the number of fixed-term appointments increased, in order to promote balanced geographical distribution. 4. Women and men should be treated equally, yet despite the decisions taken by the General Assembly and the Secretary-General's stated policy, women were still 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the internal management and diversity of the United Nations staff, with a focus on geographical distribution and gender equality. This suggests that the text is related to the organization and management of the UN, rather than specific policy areas like economic development or natural resources.

**Category**
Employment, Humanitarian aid and relief