E/2009/27 E/CN.6/2009/15 Chapter VII Organization of the session A. Opening and duration of the session 1. The Commission on the Status of Women held its fifty-third session at United Nations Headquarters from 2 to 13 March 2009. The Commission held 17 meetings (1st to 17th). 2. The session was opened by the Chairperson of the Commission, Olivier Belle (Belgium), who also made a statement. 3. At the 1st meeting, on 2 March, statements were made by the Deputy Secretary-General, the President of the Economic and Social Council, the UnderSecretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and the Assistant SecretaryGeneral and Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women. 4. At the 5th meeting, on 4 March, 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 of the United Nations Development Fund for Women. 5. At the same meeting, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women made a presentation and responded to comments and questions posed by the representatives of Croatia, Turkey, Malaysia, Ecuador and the United States of America, and the observers for Switzerland, the Czech Republic (on behalf of the States Members of the United Nations that are members of the European Union) and Argentina. 6. At the 10th meeting, on 6 March, a statement was made by the Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. B. Attendance 7. The session was attended by representatives of 45 States members of the Commission. Observers of other States Members of the United Nations and of non-Member States, representatives of organizations of the United Nations system and observers for intergovernmental, non-governmental and other organizations also attended. C. Election of officers 8. In accordance with paragraph 2 of Economic and Social Council resolution 1987/21, the officers are elected to the Bureau of the Commission for a term of office of two years. The following officers elected at the fifty-second session continued to serve during the fifty-third session: Chairperson: Olivier Belle (Belgium) 48 09-28398