E/2008/27 E/CN.6/2008/11 2. At the 2nd meeting, on 25 February, introductory statements were made by the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and the Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women. 3. At the 6th meeting, on 27 February, introductory statements were made by the Assistant Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women; the Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women; and the Executive Director ad interim of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). 4. At its 2nd, 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th and 12th meetings, on 25, 27 and 28 February and 3 March, the Commission held a general discussion on agenda item 3. 5. At the 2nd meeting, statements were made by the representatives of Iceland, the Dominican Republic (on behalf of the Rio Group), the Sudan, Mexico and Togo. 6. Also at the same meeting, statements were made by the observers for Antigua and Barbuda (on behalf of the Group of 77 and China), Slovenia (on behalf of the European Union; the candidate countries Turkey, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the countries of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia, as well as Ukraine and Armenia), Sweden, Côte d’Ivoire and Argentina (on behalf of MERCOSUR). 7. Also at the 2nd meeting, statements were made by the Director of the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) and the Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. 8. At the same meeting, statements were made by the representatives of Zambia (on behalf of the Southern African Development Community), Ghana, Zambia (national statement), Brazil, Suriname, the United Republic of Tanzania, Indonesia and Mauritius and by the observers for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Finland, Botswana, Tuvalu, the Bahamas, the Czech Republic, Liberia and the Russian Federation. 9. At the 7th meeting, on 27 February, statements were made by the representatives of Paraguay, the Niger, Mali, Ecuador, the United States of America, Azerbaijan, Hungary and Namibia and by the observers for Ireland, Nigeria, Honduras, Senegal, Chile, Yemen, Norway, Poland, Argentina, Tonga (on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Egypt, Colombia, Angola, Costa Rica and Australia. 10. At the 8th meeting, on 28 February, statements were made by the representatives of Turkey, Japan, Cambodia, the Netherlands, Spain, Pakistan, Malaysia and Armenia and by the observers for the Syrian Arab Republic, Israel, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya, Jamaica, Viet Nam, Kuwait, Thailand, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Barbados, Lebanon, the Philippines, Fiji, Denmark, Malta, Uganda and Portugal. 11. Also at the same meeting, statements were made by representatives of the following intergovernmental organizations: the Inter-Parliamentary Union and Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. 32 08-29062