accorded official status, or that they had to search for data scattered among different governmental offices, made it extremely difficult for them to discharge their tasks. However, it was pointed out that in those cases where only one national correspondent had been appointed, the multiplicity and diversity of the required functions could be beyond his or her expertise or capabilities. Such difficulties would cause a loss of interest and discouragement. 7. It was pointed out that the role of national correspondents and the requirements for their appointment should perhaps be made even clearer to Governments, with very specific guidelines. It was also suggested that the Secretariat should evaluate the work of national correspondents to determine whether they were interested in the United Nations programme and whether they were in a position to make useful contributions. In order to render the network of national correspondents more effective, it was suggested that the well established legal framework should be clearly defined, and that their role and functions should be delineated by Governments. It was also suggested that the Secretariat should consider ways of directing the request for the appointment of national correspondents to the appropriate government agencies or ministries, in order to avoid delays in appointments, and of alerting the national correspondents well in advance of any survey or questionnaire, providing them with a brief outline of such documents and describing their purposes and goals. National correspondents would then be in a position to notify the relevant government agencies or departments and request that they begin preparing the necessary replies. Such a method might improve the rate of responses to the questionnaires. 8. Many participants stressed that Governments should be urged to update the list of national correspondents and periodically review the appointments to ensure proper feedback. In that connection, they also emphasized that Goverrunents should 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the organization and functioning of a network of national correspondents, who are likely appointed by governments to provide information and data to the United Nations. The text highlights the difficulties faced by national correspondents in discharging their tasks due to lack of clear guidelines and unclear roles and functions. It also emphasizes the importance of updating the list of national correspondents and reviewing appointments regularly. Given the focus on organization and functioning of a network of national correspondents, it is likely that the text is related to the United Nations' administrative or organizational processes.

**Category**
International Relations, Administration