- 68 - Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace (Beijing, 1995) and United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) (Istanbul, 1996) 353. The Committee emphasizes the importance which it attaches to the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace. For this reason it appointed a drafting group during its twelfth session which was responsible for the preparation of a statement for the Committee to consider sending to the Conference as an official document both of the Committee and of the Conference. The group consisted of Mrs. Virginia Bonoan-Dandan, Mrs. María de los Angeles Jiménez Butragueño and Mr. Juan Alvarez Vita. The statement, as revised, was adopted by the Committee and is contained in annex VI to the present report. In view of the importance of the Conference and the central relevance of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to its work, the Committee believes that it is essential that it be represented at the Conference by its Rapporteur, Mrs. Bonoan-Dandan, as well as by Mrs. Jiménez Butragueño. It asks the Secretariat to make all the necessary arrangements to facilitate their attendance. 354. The Committee also takes note of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), to be held in June 1996. It decided to request one of its members, Mr. Philippe Texier, to draft a statement to be adopted by the Committee at its thirteenth session with a view to its being transmitted to the meeting of the Preparatory Committee, as well as to the Conference itself. The statement will, in particular, emphasize the importance which the Committee attaches to full implementation of the right to adequate housing, which is recognized in a wide range of international instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It will also note the importance of ensuring that the general policy framework for the Conference takes full account of the importance of that human right. Draft optional protocol 355. The Committee held a brief discussion on this issue at its twelfth session and agreed to request Mr. Philip Alston to submit a revised report to it at its thirteenth session. The report should reflect the discussions held at the Committee’s eleventh and twelfth sessions and provide the basis on which the Committee could complete its consideration of this matter, with a view to forwarding a final report to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-second session. Day of general discussion 356. The Committee decided that, in view of the time pressures to which it would be subject at its thirteenth session, it would devote its day of general discussion to the adoption of its report on a draft optional protocol. In order to ensure the availability of as much time as possible for this purpose, the Committee decided that participation by non-members of the Committee should be extremely limited.