Annex II 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 Chairperson: Ms. Aloisia WOERGETTER (Austria) 1. In accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1995/29 of 24 July 1995, 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 met as an in-session open-ended working group of the Commission at its fortieth session. By its decisions 1996/240 of 22 July 1996 and 1997/227 of 21 July 1997, the Council renewed the mandate of the Working Group so that it might continue its work, and authorized it to meet in parallel with the Commission at its forty-first session, and at its fortysecond and forty-third sessions, respectively. 2. Ms. Aloisia Woergetter (Austria) continued to serve as Chairperson of the Working Group. 3. The Working Group met from 2 to 13 March 1998. It held 5 meetings (1st to 5th) and a number of informal meetings. It had before it the following documents: (a) Report of the Secretary-General containing an annotated comparison of the draft optional protocol and the amendments proposed thereto with the provisions of existing international human rights instruments (E/CN.6/1998/7); (b) Note by the Secretary-General on the results of the eighteenth session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (E/CN.6/1998/CRP.1). 4. At the 1st meeting, on 2 March, the Chairperson opened the meeting and made a statement. 5. At the same meeting, the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women and Director of the Division for the Advancement of Women made an introductory statement. 6. Also at the 1st meeting, a statement was made by the Minister of the Department for Women’s Affairs of Chile. 7. At the same meeting, statements were also made by the representatives of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the European Union, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia), Australia, Norway, Ghana, Algeria, China, Liechtenstein, Lesotho, Japan, New Zealand, the United States of America and Pakistan. 8. Also at the 1st meeting, a statement was made by the representative of the Friends World Committee for Consultation, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. -76-