Chapter IV CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN, INCLUDING THE ELABORATION OF A DRAFT OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION 1. The Commission considered item 5 of its agenda at its 15th meeting, on 21 March 1997. It had before it the report of the Secretary-General containing a comparative summary of existing communications and inquiry procedures and practices under international human rights instruments and under the Charter of the United Nations (E/CN.6/1997/4) and the report of the Secretary-General on additional views of Governments, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations on an optional protocol to the Convention (E/CN.6/1997/5). ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION Report of the Open-ended Working Group on the Elaboration of a Draft Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 2. At the 15th meeting, on 21 March, the Chairperson of the Open-ended Working Group on the Elaboration of a Draft Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Aloisia Wörgetter (Austria), introduced and orally revised the report of the Working Group, as contained in documents E/CN.6/1997/WG/L.2 and E/CN.6/1997/WG/L.3 and Add.1, and the Chairperson’s summary, which was subsequently circulated in document E/CN.6/1997/WG/L.4. 3. Also at the 15th meeting, the representative of France made a statement. The Secretary of the Commission and the Chairperson of the Open-ended Working Group also made statements. 4. The Commission then adopted the draft report of the Working Group, as orally revised, and agreed to annex it, together with the Chairperson’s summary, to the report of the Commission (see annex III below). Renewal of the mandate of the Open-ended Working Group on the Elaboration of a Draft Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 5. At the 15th meeting, on 21 March, the Chairperson of the Open-ended Working Group on the Elaboration of a Draft Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Ms. Wörgetter (Austria), introduced a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1997/L.8) entitled "Renewal of the mandate of the Open-ended Working Group on the Elaboration of a Draft Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women" submitted on the basis of informal consultations, the annex to which contained a draft decision on the renewal of the mandate of the Working Group. 6. At the same meeting, the Secretary informed the Commission that the recommendation to authorize the Working Group to meet in parallel with the Commission in 1998 and 1999 had been noted by the Department of Conference Services and would be included in the draft calendar of conferences and meetings -70-