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DRAFTING, SUB-DRAFTING AND INFORMAL GROUPS

Negotiations on the draft Platform for Action began with a Drafting Group and a Sub- Drafting Group, but by the end of the first week, mid-way into the discussion of the section on health, most of the remaining text was sent to informal-informal negotiations. First readings on Chapters III (Critical Areas of Concern), IV (Strategic Objectives and Actions, Sections A, B and part of C), and V (Institutional Arrangements) where chaired by Ms. Irene Freudenschuss (Austria). First readings on Chapters I (Mission Statement) and II (Global Framework) were chaired by Amb. Julia Alvarez (Dominican Republic). Amendments were submitted in written form on the remaining texts, and expert groups were used to integrate the compilation texts into more manageable drafts from which negotiations proceeded, in closed informal- informal sessions. Ms. Patricia Licuanan (Philippines) and Ms. Freudenschuss chaired the two informal groups, which worked in parallel from 28 March to 3 April. In an afternoon Plenary on Monday, 3 April, the Bureau recommended that delegates extend the CSW, as many texts had not yet been addressed and the meeting was scheduled to end the next day. Delegates agreed to extend the CSW for three days, and created a third informal group, chaired by Ms. Patty O"Neill (New Zealand), to ensure that all texts would be considered by the negotiation deadline of midnight Wednesday, 5 April. All sections, except the Declaration, were completed during all day and late night sessions, although the number of brackets reveals that consensus has not yet been reached on many substantive issues. The following summarizes each section in the Platform for Action and highlights the issues that remain bracketed.