A/HRC/17/19 4. In December 2010, the General Assembly adopted resolution 64/144 entitled “Office of the President of the Human Rights Council”. Recalling Council decision 9/103 and underlining the crucial importance of appropriate resources to support the work of the Council and its numerous mechanisms, bearing in mind that the Council met regularly throughout the year in no fewer than three sessions per year for a total duration of no less than 10 weeks, the Assembly acknowledged the recommendation of the Council to establish an office of the President and requested the Council to address the question of the establishment and the modalities of an office in the context of the review of its work and functioning five years after its establishment, in accordance with Assembly resolution 60/251. III. Review of the work and functioning of the Human Rights Council 5. During the process of the above-mentioned review in 2010 and 2011 through the intergovernmental open-ended working group established by the Human Rights Council, a group of States proposed that urgent measures should be taken towards the establishment of an office of the President of the Council. One Member State also proposed that the existing office of the President be institutionalized and reinforced on the example of the President of the General Assembly, to enable the Council President to have the necessary support to perform his or her mandate. A few Member States also proposed specific positions to be created within the office of the President, such as a legal adviser and a public relations/communications adviser. 6. Views in favour of the establishment of an office of the President highlighted the need to preserve the institutional memory and to enhance the continuity between presidencies rotating every Human Rights Council year, and to ensure a predictable and reliable support structure. In this context, a concern was noted that each of the past Presidents had been dependent upon variable support from his permanent mission, if available, and the staff provided by other Member States or regional organizations, whereby Presidents had no say in the selection of the staff concerned. The ad hoc arrangements were thus insufficient and did not guarantee stable, professional and quality support to Council Presidents. These shortcomings, combined with the heavy nature of assignments entrusted to the President, have made it difficult for a country not supported by a large permanent mission in Geneva to present its candidacy for the presidency. 7. Different views were expressed by several other Member States. It was noted that it was necessary to clarify the objectives of the establishment of an office of the President and to avoid overlap with the current functions performed by the secretariat. A view was expressed that the institutional memory function was satisfactorily carried out by the secretariat. Reference was also made to a potential contradiction between the objective to ensure institutional memory and the selection of staff on a yearly basis. IV. President of the Human Rights Council 8. A discussion on an office of the President of the Human Rights Council, including its structure, staff composition and budget, would benefit from a brief description of the main functions and activities of the President, based upon the experience gained over recent years. The Council was established as a quasi-standing organ that performs its activities throughout the year, with the activities of the Council President being a full-time function. In chairing meetings of the Council throughout the year, including its regular and special sessions, organizational meetings, informal consultations and the Working Group on the 4