A/RES/53/131 Page 5 16. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the status of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination;10 17. Expresses its satisfaction at the number of States that have ratified the Convention or acceded thereto; 18. Reaffirms once again its conviction that ratification of or accession to the Convention on a universal basis and the implementation of its provisions are necessary for the realization of the objectives of the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and for action beyond the Decade; 19. Urges all States that have not yet become parties to the Convention to ratify it or accede thereto; 20. Urges States to limit the extent of any reservation they lodge to the Convention and to formulate any reservation as precisely and as narrowly as possible in order to ensure that no reservation is incompatible with the objective and purpose of the Convention or otherwise contrary to international treaty law, to review their reservations regularly with a view to withdrawing them and to withdraw reservations that are contrary to the objective and purpose of the Convention or that are otherwise incompatible with international treaty law; 21. Requests the States parties to the Convention that have not yet done so to consider the possibility of making the declaration provided for in article 14 of the Convention; 22. Decides to consider at its fifty-fifth session, under the item entitled “Elimination of racism and racial discrimination”, the reports of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the reports of the Secretary-General on the financial situation of the Committee and the status of the Convention. 85th plenary meeting 9 December 1998 10 A/53/256.