A/RES/52/231 Page 2 obstacles, with a view to implementing fully the Platform for Action as well as taking further action and initiatives; 3. Recalls that, in keeping with General Assembly resolution 52/100, the Commission on the Status of Women will serve as the preparatory committee for the review and will be open-ended for the purposes of the preparations; 4. Decides that the preparatory work, which should be supported by inter-sessional consultations convened by the open-ended Bureau of the Commission on the Status of Women as needed, will be carried out by the Commission at its forty-third and forty-fourth sessions in the years 1999 and 2000, respectively, and that the fortythird and forty-fourth sessions will be extended by five days each to complete the preparations; 5. Calls upon the Secretary-General, in collaboration with the regional commissions, to develop a standardized questionnaire, with a focused set of indicators, on all critical areas of concern as a framework to assist national Governments in their assessment of and reporting on the implementation of the Platform for Action; 6. Encourages those Governments that have not yet done so to submit their national plans of action to the Division for the Advancement of Women of the Secretariat by September 1998 as an input to the start of the review during the forty-third session of the Commission, and encourages Governments to submit in 1999 information on their implementation of the Platform for Action, focusing particularly on positive actions, lessons learned, obstacles, key challenges remaining and a vision for gender equality in the next millennium; 7. Invites Governments to prepare their national evaluations on the implementation of the Platform for Action with the involvement of civil society; 8. Requests the Secretary-General to invite all entities of the United Nations system, including the specialized agencies, funds and programmes, to be involved actively in preparatory activities and to participate at the highest level in the special session, including through presentations on best practices, obstacles encountered and a vision for the future to accelerate implementation of the Platform for Action and address new and emerging trends; 9. Encourages appropriate regional preparatory activities for the special session, inter alia, by Governments in cooperation with the regional commissions, and recommends submission of the results as an input to the Commission at its forty-fourth session, in the year 2000; 10. Invites the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission at its forty-third session, in addition to the documentation already foreseen in the long-term work programme of the Commission for the review and appraisal of the implementation of the Platform for Action, suggestions on further initiatives and actions that might be considered during the review, with attention to mainstreaming gender equality and to common trends and themes across the twelve critical areas of concern; 11. Requests the Secretary-General to provide in the report on emerging issues, to be submitted to the Commission at its forty-fourth session, additional material on further actions and initiatives for the preparation of the outlook beyond the year 2000; 12. Invites the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to provide information in 1999 on the implementation of the Platform for Action, based on its review of reports of States parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;4 4 Resolution 34/180, annex. /...