Chapter IV ELABORATION OF A DRAFT OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN 1. The Commission considered item 5 of its agenda at the 2nd, 4th, 7th, 14th and 16th meetings, on 11, 12, 14, 21 and 22 March 1996. It had before it the report of the Secretary-General on the elaboration of a draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (E/CN.6/1996/10 and Corr.1 and Add.1 and 2). ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION Elaboration of a draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 2. At the 14th 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 a draft resolution (E/CN.6/1996/L.11) entitled "Elaboration of a draft optional protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women", the annex to which contained a draft decision on the renewal of the mandate of the Working Group, recommended for adoption by the Economic and Social Council. 3. At the 16th meeting, on 22 March, the Secretary of the Commission read out the following statement with regard to the programme budget implications of the draft resolution: "In adopting the programme budget for the biennium 1996-1997, the General Assembly decided that savings of $103.9 million were to be achieved in the programme budget during the biennium. Under the circumstances, it is not possible at this stage to modify the calendar of conferences in order to accommodate the additional meetings in 1997 for 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, the full cost of which is estimated at $161,000. The possibility of additional meetings will be reviewed at the fifty-first session of the General Assembly." 4. At the same meeting, the observer for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland made a statement, which was responded to by the Chairperson of the Working Group. 5. Also at the 16th meeting, the Commission adopted the draft resolution, as orally revised (see chap. I, sect. C, Commission resolution 40/8), and the draft decision annexed thereto (see chap. I, sect. B, draft decision I). 6. The observer for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland made a statement. -89-