a Total number of cases decided (by the adoption of Views, inadmissibility decisions and decisions to discontinue consideration).

28.By the date of adoption of the present report (29 March 2017), some 220 communications were ready for the Committee to take decisions on admissibility and/or the merits. Unless there is significant increase in the capacity of the Secretariat to process communications, however, the Committee’s ability to address its backlog in that regard will continue to be seriously compromised.

29.During the period under the review, the Committee, through its Special Rapporteur on new communications and interim measures and the co-rapporteur, transmitted 163 new communications to States parties under rule 97 of the Committee’s rules of procedure, requesting information or observations relevant to questions of admissibility and the merits. In 33 cases, the Special Rapporteur issued requests for interim measures pursuant to rule 92 of the Committee’s rules of procedure.

2.Cooperation by States parties in the examination of communications

30.In several cases decided during the period under review, the Committee noted that States parties had failed to cooperate in the procedure by not providing observations on the admissibility and/or the merits of the authors’ allegations. The States parties in question are Algeria (one communication), Belarus (five communications) and Sri Lanka (one communication). The Committee deplored the situation and recalled that it was implicit in the Optional Protocol that States parties should transmit to the Committee all information at their disposal. In the absence of a reply, due weight has to be given to the author’s allegations, to the extent that they have been properly substantiated.

3.Issues considered by the Committee

31.A review of the Committee’s work under the Optional Protocol from its second session in 1977 to its 116th session in March 2016 can be found in the Committee’s annual reports from 1984 to 2016, which contain summaries of the procedural and substantive issues considered and summaries of the decisions taken by the Committee, and in the report entitled “Consideration by the Human Rights Committee at its 114th, 115th and 116th sessions of communications received under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”. A chapter on the jurisprudential developments of the Committee during the period under review is not contained in the present annual report but in CCPR/C/117/3 (available in English only). The full texts of the Views adopted by the Committee and of its decisions declaring communications inadmissible under the Optional Protocol are available in the treaty body database (http://juris.ohchr.org).

32.During the period under review the Committee examined and found violations of the Covenant in communications No. 2081/2011 (D.T. and A.A. v. Canada), No. 2082/2011 (Levinov v. Belarus), No. 2089/2011 (Korol v. Belarus), No. 2093/2011 (Misnikov v. Belarus), No. 2101/2011 (Evzrezov v. Belarus), No. 2106/2011 (Kashtanova and Slukina v. Uzbekistan), No. 2107/2011 (Berezhnoy v. Russian Federation), Nos. 2108-2109/2011 (Basarevsky and Rybchenko v. Belarus), No. 2118/2011 (Saxena v. Canada), No. 2125/2011 (Tyan v. Kazakhstan), No. 2127/2011 (Akunov v. Kyrgyzstan), No. 2128/2012 (Kerrouche v. Algeria), No. 2139/2012 (Poplavny and Sudalenko v. Belarus), No. 2146/2012 (Suleimenov v. Kazakhstan), 2157/2012 (Belamrania v. Algeria), No. 2164/2012 (Basnet v. Nepal), No. 2172/2012 (A. v. Australia), No. 2184/2012 (Nakarmi v. Nepal), No. 2185/2012 (Dakhal v. Nepal), No. 2187/2012 (Bazarov v. Kyrgyzstan), No. 2205/2012 (Agazade v. Azerbaijan), No. 2206/2012 (Lale and Blagojević v. Bosnia and Herzegovina), No. 2216/2012 (C. v. Australia), No. 2220/2012 (Aminov v. Turkmenistan), No. 2219/2012 (Nasyrlayev v. Turkmenistan), No. 2224/2012 (Matyakubov v. Turkmenistan), No. 2225/2012 (Nurjanov v. Turkmenistan), No. 2226/2012 (Uchetov v. Turkmenistan), No. 2227/2012 (Yegendurdyew v. Turkmenistan), No. 2242/2013 (Kalamiotis v. Greece), No. 2245/2013 (Purna v. Nepal), No. 2259/2013 (El-boathi v. Algeria), No. 2317/2013 (Ortikov v. Uzbekistan), No. 2359/2014 (Saidarov v. Kyrgyzstan), No. 2379/2014 (Ahmed v. Denmark), No. 2387/2014 (A.B. v. Canada), No. 2388/2014 (Kingue v. Cameroon), No. 2412/2014 (Samathanam v. Sri Lanka), No. 2425/2014 (Whelan v. Ireland), No. 2462/2012 (M.K.H. v. Denmark), No. 2464/2014 (A.A.S. v. Denmark), No. 2465/2014 (Mambu v. Democratic Republic of the Congo), No. 2469/2014 (E.U.R. v. Denmark), No. 2481/2014 (Scarano v. Venezuela), 2496/2014 (Kostin v. Russian Federation), No. 2512/2014 (Raziyeh v. Denmark), No. 2530/2015 (Moner Sawers v. Denmark), No. 2555/2015 (Allabediev v. Uzbekistan), No. 2586/2015 (Zakharenko v. Belarus), No. 2608/2015 (R.A.A. and Z.M. v. Denmark), No. 2613/2015 (Contreras v. Canada) and No. 2681/2015 (Y.A.A. v. Denmark) .

33.The Committee found no violations of the Covenant in communications No. 2124/2012 (Rabbae v. Netherlands), No. 2152/2012 (Parshin v. Russian Federation), No. 2204/2012 (J.D. v. Denmark), No. 2291/2013 (A and B v. Denmark), No. 2378/2014 (A.S.M. and R.A.H. v. Denmark), No. 2443/2014 (S.Z. v. Denmark), No. 2493/2014 (A.H.A. v. Denmark) and No. 2569/2015 (Bassam and Ali Khalifa v. Denmark).

34.The Committee decided that the following communications were inadmissible: No. 2088/2011 (B.H. v. Austria), No. 2100/2011 (S.M. v. Bulgaria), No. 2112/2011 (K.A. v. Belarus), No. 2115/2011 (I.A.K. v. Denmark), No. 2121/2011 (F.A.H. and others v. Colombia), No. 2135/2012 (Y.Z. v. Belarus), No. 2140/2012 (I.T. v. Kazakhstan), No. 2145/2012 (M.Z. v. Kazakhstan), No. 2148/2012 (M.A.K. v. Belgium), No. 2154/2012 (J.I. v. France), No. 2195/2012 (Ch.H.O. v. Canada), No. 2240/2013 (M.A. v. Denmark), No. 2253/2013 (A.P.J. v. Denmark), No. 2293/2013 (D. and E. v. Denmark), No. 2299/2013 (G.E. v. Netherlands), No. 2338/2014 (M.J.K. v. Denmark), No. 2415/2014 (A.M.M. v. Denmark), No. 2473/2014 (A.H.S. v. Denmark), No. 2559/2015 (I.M.Y. v. Denmark), No. 2567/2015 (A.U. and H.R. v. New Zealand), No. 2593/2015 (M.Z.B.M. v. Denmark), No. 2602/2015 (Z.H. v. Denmark), No. 2729/2016 (X v. Netherlands), No. 2745/2016 (V.R. and N.R. v. Denmark), No. 2771/2016 (X and Y v. Canada), No. 2801/2016 (N.R. v. New Zealand), No. 2842/2016 (S.Sh. v. Kazakhstan) and No. 2934/2017 (M.B. v. New Zealand).

4.Measures of reparation in Views adopted under the Optional Protocol

35.At its 118th session, the Committee adopted guidelines on measures of reparation under the Optional Protocol to the Covenant (CCPR/C/158). The guidelines provide an overview of the jurisprudence set forth in the Committee’s Views and requiring States parties to make full reparation to individuals whose Covenant rights have been violated. The guidelines seek to harmonize criteria and ensure consistency in order to render the Committee’s jurisprudence more effective, while allowing for flexibility regarding future developments.

5.Decisions concerning working methods for dealing with communications

36.At its 118th session, the Committee decided to develop a pilot process for inviting the parties in significant communications to offer oral comments on the other party’s submissions. Such communications could include cases raising general points of interpretation of the Covenant, cases potentially revealing widespread practices that are inconsistent with the Covenant and other relevant cases raising issues of principle.

37.At the same session, the Committee decided to make public, through the Committee’s webpage, the list of communications registered for and pending consideration.

6.Follow-up to Views

38.During the period under review, the Special Rapporteur for follow-up on Views submitted reports at the 118th (see CCPR/C/118/3) and 119th sessions.

39.To date, the Committee has concluded that there has been a violation of the Covenant in 1,029 of the 1,221 Views adopted since 1979. The Committee has continued the practice, initiated at its 109th session, to include in its reports on follow-up to Views an assessment of the replies received from or action taken by States parties; the assessment uses the criteria established for the follow-up procedure to the concluding observations. At its 118th session, the Committee decided to revise its assessment criteria. The Committee continues to note that many States parties have failed to implement the Views adopted under the Optional Protocol.

40.At its 118th session, the Committee decided to close the follow-up dialogue with a note of satisfactory implementation of its recommendations in communications No. 1153/2003 (Llantoy Huamán v. Peru), No. 2097/2011 (Timmer v. Netherlands), No. 2149/2010 (M.I. v. Sweden), No. 2243/2013 (Husseini v. Denmark), No. 2258/2013 (Rasappu v. Denmark), No. 2370/2014 (A.H. v. Denmark) and No. 2389/2014 (X v. Denmark).

I.General comments under article 40 (4) of the Covenant

41.At its 117th, 118th and 119th sessions, the Committee continued reviewing its draft general comment on the right to life (article 6).

J.Staff resources and translation of official documents

42.In accordance with article 36 of the Covenant, the Secretary-General is obliged to provide the Committee with the necessary staff and facilities for the effective performance of its functions. The Committee reaffirms its concern regarding the shortage of staff resources and stresses once again the importance of allocating adequate staff resources to service its sessions and to promote greater awareness, understanding and implementation of its recommendations at the national level. The Committee stresses the fact that, unless there is a significant increase in the staff capacity of the Petitions Unit to process individual communications, the Committee’s ability to address its backlog in that regard will continue to be seriously compromised. Furthermore, the Committee expresses grave concern that general rules within the United Nations concerning staff mobility in the Secretariat may hamper the work of the Committee, in particular that of staff in the Petitions Unit, who need to remain in their positions long enough to acquire experience and knowledge regarding the jurisprudence of the Committee.

43.The Committee is grateful to the General Assembly for the adoption of resolution 68/268 on strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system, including the provision for the two and a half extra weeks of meeting time that the Committee received for the calendar years 2015 and 2016. It regrets, however, that insufficient human resources were provided to the Committee to ensure full implementation of the resolution. It also regrets the word limits imposed under the resolution and the failure of some documents to be translated, as these continue to have a negative impact on the Committee’s work.

K.Outreach on the work of the Committee

44.At its ninety-fourth session, the Committee adopted a paper on a strategic approach to public relations with the media (CCPR/C/94/3).

45.During the 117th session, the Centre for Civil and Political Rights was in a position to only partially webcast the session in collaboration with OHCHR, which started to provide a full webcast of the Committee’s sessions, including the examination of all States parties’ reports and other public meetings, at the 118th session. The webcast may be viewed at https://webtv.un.org.

46.The Committee continued to develop a media strategy, which has included holding press conferences at the end of each session.

47.The Committee continued to highlight the importance of holding a periodic session in New York and, to that end, adopted the decision below, after having been provided by the Secretariat with an estimate of the budgetary implications, pursuant to rule 27 of its rules of procedure:

At its 119th session, the Human Rights Committee:

(a) Recalled the need to facilitate the engagement of States parties with the Committee, in particular those without representation in Geneva;

(b) Noted that, pursuant to article 37 (3) of the Covenant, it normally met either at Headquarters, in New York, or at the United Nations Office at Geneva;

(c) Considered that the practice of holding sessions periodically in both locations increased the visibility of the work of the Committee across different geographical regions, made the Committee more accessible to all States and United Nations bodies, as well as to a wide range of members of civil society, and strengthened the overall impact of the Committee and its work;

(d) Welcomed the planned increase in meeting time allocated for the Committee in 2018 pursuant to General Assembly resolution 68/268;

(e) Recalled that the Committee had developed in recent years new procedures that enabled it to increase its work output and to function more effectively, in accordance with the objectives set out in General Assembly resolution 68/268;

(f) Noted that, owing to a lack of synchronization between the dates of upcoming sessions and the dates foreseen for hiring and training new support staff, the Committee might not receive at its 122nd session, to be held in March 2018, the full support it needed to increase further its work output;

(g) Considered, however, that the above-mentioned situation created a unique opportunity to hold a session in New York, to be funded from the existing budget, which would enhance the accessibility and visibility aims set out in General Assembly resolution 68/268;

(h) Decided to hold its 122nd session in New York;

(i) Requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide the support and resources needed to do so;

(j) Recommended that the Office seek the approval of the competent United Nations bodies for the necessary reattribution of budgetary items in order to facilitate the provision of the support required for the work of the Committee, including for funding the travel of staff from Geneva to New York, without increasing the planned budget for 2018, or to identify another source for funding the expenses associated with the 122nd session.

L.Submission of the Committee’s annual report to the General Assembly

48.During the 118th session, the Chair attended the interactive dialogue with the General Assembly in New York on 18 October 2016, at which time he presented the Committee’s annual report.

M.Adoption of the report

49.At its 3360th meeting, on 21 March 2017, the Committee considered the draft of its fiftieth annual report, covering its activities at its 117th, 118th and 119th sessions, held in 2016 and 2017. The report, as amended in the course of the discussion, was adopted unanimously. By virtue of its decision 1985/105 of 8 February 1985, the Economic and Social Council authorized the Secretary-General to transmit the Committee’s annual report directly to the General Assembly.

II.Methods of work of the Committee under article 40 of the Covenant and cooperation with other United Nations bodies

50.The present section contains a summary and an explanation of the modifications introduced by the Committee to its working methods under article 40 of the Covenant during the past year, as well as recent decisions adopted by the Committee on follow-up to its concluding observations on State party reports.

A.Recent developments and decisions on procedures

51.During the 117th session, the Committee adopted the following:

(a)The Guidelines against Intimidation or Reprisals (the San José Guidelines) (HRI/MC/2015/6), without amendment, following their endorsement by the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies (see A/70/302, para. 41);

(b)The elements for the elaboration of and consultations on general comments endorsed by the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies (see A/70/302, para. 90 and 91), which do not constitute a departure from the Committee’s practice.

52.During the 118th session, the Committee examined four State party reports in double chambers, two reports at a time (the fourth periodic report of Slovakia, the seventh periodic report of Poland, the third periodic report of the Republic of Moldova and the fourth periodic report of Jamaica). The Committee discussed the chambers experience following the review of those reports. It decided to suspend the use of double chambers until it had a backlog of reports or until such time as it would need to work for more than 12 weeks in plenary during a single year.

53.During the 118th session, the Committee adopted the following:

(a)Guidelines on measures of reparation under the Optional Protocol to the Covenant (CCPR/C/158);

(b)A new grading system for follow-up to concluding observations and Views;

(c)A paper on the possibility, in exceptional cases, of resorting to oral hearings when examining communications of a particularly complex nature;

(d)A paper on the publication of information on pending cases.

1.Focused reports based on lists of issues prior to reporting

54.In October 2009, the Committee decided to make a new reporting procedure available to a limited number of States parties. At its 111th session (July 2014), the Committee decided that the procedure involving a list of issues prior to reporting should be in principle offered to all States parties and should be applicable to periodic reports only (see A/70/40, para. 56 (a)). Information on the procedure can be found at www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/ CCPR/Pages/SimplifiedReportingProcedure.aspx.

55.At its 117th, 118th and 119th sessions, the Committee examined the fifth periodic report of Argentina, the third periodic report of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the sixth periodic reports of Denmark and Ecuador, the seventh periodic report of Poland and the third periodic report of the Republic of Moldova, all of which were submitted pursuant to the simplified reporting procedure. During those three sessions, the Committee also adopted lists of issues prior to reporting with respect to the sixth periodic report of Belgium, the fourth periodic report of Lithuania, the fifth periodic report of the Netherlands, the seventh periodic report of Norway, the fourth periodic report of Paraguay and the fifth periodic report of Togo.

2.Fiftieth anniversary of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

56.On 16 December 2015, OHCHR launched its public awareness campaign on the fiftieth anniversary of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights with a photography exhibition at Palais de Nations, Geneva. On that occasion, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Chair of the Human Rights Committee and the Chair of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights made remarks. On 1 March 2016, the Human Rights Council commemorated the anniversary with a high-level panel sponsored by the Government of the Russian Federation on the theme “Universality, indivisibility, interdependence and inter-relatedness of human rights”. The Chairs of the two Committees participated in the panel, which was followed by a side event organized by the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Centre for Civil and Political Rights and OHCHR. Víctor Manuel Rodríguez Rescia represented the Committee at the side event. During its 117th session, the Committee held its first joint meeting with the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the two Covenants. At its seventy-first session, the General Assembly devoted one plenary session to the commemoration of the anniversary. The human rights focus of the annual treaty event that took place in September 2016 during the high-level segment of the Assembly was devoted to promoting the ratification of the two Covenants and their Optional Protocols. On 16 December 2016, the two Committees launched a joint statement on the anniversary of the Covenants (CCPR/C/2016/1-E/C.12/2016/3).

B.Links to other bodies

57.At the118th session, some members the pre-sessional working group met with the members of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances to consider the issue of the right to life, as it relates to enforced disappearances, in the context of the draft general comment on that topic. During its 117th session, the Committee met with judges from the European Court of Human Rights. In November 2016, some members of the Committee met informally in Costa Rica with judges from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. During the 119th session, Yuji Iwasawa and Yuval Shany took part in a workshop organized by OHCHR on treaty bodies and national human rights institutions.

III.Submission of reports by States parties under article 40 of the Covenant

58.In line with the guidelines adopted by the Committee at its sixty-sixth session and amended at its seventieth session (CCPR/C/66/GUI/Rev.2), the five-year periodicity in reporting, which the Committee had established at its thirteenth session, in July 1981 (CCPR/C/19/Rev.1), was replaced by a flexible system whereby the date for the subsequent periodic report by a State party is set on a case-by-case basis at the end of the Committee’s concluding observations on any report, in accordance with article 40 of the Covenant and in the light of the guidelines for reporting and the working methods of the Committee. The Committee confirmed this approach in its current guidelines, adopted at the ninety-ninth session (CCPR/C/2009/1).

A.Reports submitted to the Secretary-General from April 2015 to 31 March 2016

59.During the period covered by the present report, 14 reports were submitted to the Secretary-General by the following States parties: Australia (sixth periodic report), Bulgaria (fourth periodic report), Cameroon (fifth periodic report), Democratic Republic of the Congo (fourth periodic report), Dominican Republic (sixth periodic report), El Salvador (seventh periodic report), Guatemala (fourth periodic report), Hungary (sixth periodic report), Jordan (fifth periodic report), Lebanon (third periodic report), Liberia (initial report), Mauritius (fifth periodic report), Romania (fifth periodic report) and Switzerland (fourth periodic report).

B.Overdue reports and non-compliance by States parties with their obligations under article 40

60.The Committee wishes to reiterate that States parties to the Covenant must submit the reports referred to in article 40 of the Covenant on time so that the Committee can duly perform its functions under that article. Regrettably, serious delays have been noted since the establishment of the Committee.

61.The Committee notes with concern that the failure of States parties to submit reports hinders the performance of its monitoring functions under article 40 of the Covenant. The Committee reiterates that States with overdue reports are in default of their obligations under article 40 of the Covenant (see annex II for the list of States parties with overdue reports).

62.The Committee draws particular attention to the fact that 21 initial reports are overdue, of which 7 are overdue by between 5 and 10 years and 11 are overdue by 10 years or more. The result is frustration of a crucial objective of the Covenant, namely, to enable the Committee to monitor compliance by States parties with their obligations under the Covenant on the basis of periodic reports. The Committee addresses reminders at regular intervals to all those States parties whose reports are significantly overdue.

63.Owing to the concern of the Committee about the number of overdue reports and non-compliance by States parties with their obligations under article 40 of the Covenant, amendments to the rules of procedure were formally adopted during the seventy-first session, in March 2001. The Committee has applied the revised rules since the end of the seventy-first session (April 2001).

64.The amendments introduced a procedure to be followed when a State party has failed to honour its reporting obligations for a long time, or requests a postponement of its scheduled appearance before the Committee at short notice. In both situations, the Committee may henceforth notify the State concerned that it intends to consider, from material available to it, the measures adopted by that State party to give effect to the provisions of the Covenant, even in the absence of a report.

65.At its 103rd session, the Committee amended its rules of procedure (rules 68 and 70) relating to the examination of country situations in the absence of a report (review procedure). Since 2012, the examination of such country situations takes place in public rather than closed sessions and the resulting concluding observations are also issued as public documents.

66.The Committee first applied the procedure under rule 70 of its rules of procedure to a non-reporting State at its seventy-fifth session. To date, the procedure to examine States parties in the absence of a report has been initiated with regard to the following 21 States parties: Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Grenada, Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Seychelles, South Africa and Suriname. Information on all States parties examined under this procedure up until the 110th session is contained in the annual report to the sixty-ninth session.

67.Prior to its 112th session, the Committee indicated to South Africa that it would adopt a list of issues in the absence of a report from that State party during the 112th session. On 26 November 2014, South Africa submitted its report and the adoption of a list of issues was rescheduled. A note verbale was also sent to Bangladesh indicating that the Committee would adopt a list of issues in the absence of a report at the 112th session. Following a commitment by Bangladesh to provide the Committee with a report by March 2015, the Committee deferred consideration of the situation of civil and political rights in Bangladesh until receipt of the report. On 19 June 2015, Bangladesh submitted its report, which was examined by the Committee during its 119th session.

68.During its 119th session, the Committee adopted a list of issues on Swaziland in the absence of a report.

C.Periodicity with respect to States parties’ reports examined during the period under review

69.At its 104th session, the Committee decided to allow States parties to submit reports at intervals of no more than six years. Thus, the Committee may now ask States parties to submit their subsequent periodic reports within three, four, five or six years. At its 114th session, the Committee decided that, when determining the periodicity for future reports, States submitting reports under the simplified reporting procedure should be given an extra year to provide their reports compared with those submitting under the standard reporting procedure, with a view to ensuring fairness between States parties making use of the different procedures. Accordingly, the Committee may now ask States parties submitting reports under the simplified reporting procedure to provide their periodic reports at intervals of no more than seven years (i.e., the maximum six years allowed under the standard reporting procedure plus an extra year).

70.The dates of examination of the State party reports considered during the period under review and the due date for the subsequent reports are indicated in the table below.

State party	Date of examination	Due date for next report
Argentina	July 2016	July 2022
Burkina Faso	July 2016	July 2020
Denmark	July 2016	July 2022
Ecuador	July 2016	July 2021
Ghana	July 2016	July 2020
Kazakhstan	July 2016	July 2020
Kuwait	July 2016	July 2020
Azerbaijan	October 2016	October 2020
Colombia	October 2016	October 2020
Jamaica	October 2016	October 2021
Morocco	October 2016	October 2020
Poland	October 2016	October 2021
Republic of Moldova	October 2016	October 2022
Slovakia	October 2016	October 2021
Bangladesh	March 2017	March 2021
Bosnia and Herzegovina	March 2017	March 2022
Italy	March 2017	March 2022
Serbia	March 2017	March 2021
Thailand	March 2017	March 2021
Turkmenistan	March 2017	March 2020

Annex I

Members and officers of the Human Rights Committee, 2016-2017

Name	Country of nationality a	Term ends 31 December
117th and 118th sessions
Yadh Ben Achour	Tunisia	2018 b
Lazhari Bouzid	Algeria	2016
Sarah Cleveland	United States of America	2018 b
Ahmed Amin Fathalla	Egypt	2016 c
Olivier de Frouville	France	2018 b
Ivana Jelić	Montenegro	2018 b
Yuji Iwasawa	Japan	2018 b
Duncan Laki Muhumuza	Uganda	2018 b
Photini Pazartzis	Greece	2018 b
Mauro Politi	Italy	2018 b
Nigel Rodley	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	2016
Víctor Manuel Rodríguez Rescia	Costa Rica	2016
Dheerujlall Seetulsingh	Mauritius	2016
Fabián Omar Salvioli	Argentina	2016
Anja Seibert-Fohr	Germany	2016 c
Yuval Shany	Israel	2016 c
Konstantine Vardzelashvili	Georgia	2016
Margo Waterval	Suriname	2018 b
119th session
Tania María Abdo Rocholl	Paraguay	2020 c
Yadh Ben Achour	Tunisia	2018 b
Ilze Brands Kehris	Latvia	2020 c
Sarah Cleveland	United States of America	2018 b
Ahmed Amin Fathalla	Egypt	2020 c
Olivier de Frouville	France	2018 b
Christof Heyns	South Africa	2020 c
Yuji Iwasawa	Japan	2018 b
Ivana Jelić	Montenegro	2018 b
Bamariam Koita	Mauritania	2020 c
Marcia Kran	Canada	2020 c
Duncan Laki Muhumuza	Uganda	2018 b
Photini Pazartzis	Greece	2018 b
Mauro Politi	Italy	2018 b
José Manuel Santos Pais	Portugal	2020 c
Anja Seibert-Fohr	Germany	2020 c
Yuval Shany	Israel	2020 c
Margo Waterval	Suriname	2018 b

Not e: Information on current and past membership of the Committee can be found at www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CCPR/Pages/Membership.aspx .

a In accordance with article 28 (3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the members of the Committee shall be elected and shall serve in their personal capacity.

b Member elected during the 34th meeting of States parties, held in New York on 24 June 2014.

c Member elected during the 5th35th meeting of States parties, held in New York on 23 June 2016.

The following officers of the Committee were elected for a term of two years at the meeting held on 6 March 2017, during the 119th session:

Chair : Yuji Iwasawa

Vice-Chairs : Ahmed Amin Fathalla

Ivana Jelić

Yuval Shany

Rapporteur : Margo Waterval

Annex II

Status of submission of reports under article 40 of the Covenant (as at 30 March 2017)

A.States parties the initial report of which is overdue (18 States parties)

	State party	Date due	Years overdue	Considered in the absence of a report	Remarks
1.	Andorra	22 December 2007	9		Deadline in last reminder letter (rule 70 of the rules of procedure) to submit report by 31 August 2016
2.	Bahamas	23 March 2010	7		Deadline in last reminder letter (rule 70 of the rules of procedure) to submit report by 31 August 2016
3.	Belize	9 September 1997	19	107th session (March 2013)	Deadline in concluding observations to submit initial report by 28 March 2015
4.	Cabo Verde	5 November 1994	22	104th session (March 2012)	Deadline in concluding observations to submit initial report by 30 March 2013
5.	Dominica	16 September 1994	22	List of issues adopted at the 102nd session (July 2011; consideration was postponed)
6.	Equatorial Guinea	24 December 1988	28	Seventy-ninth session (October 2003)	Deadline in concluding observations to submit initial report by 1 August 2004
7.	Eritrea	22 April 2003	13		Deadline in last reminder letter (rule 70 of the rules of procedure) to submit report by 31 August 2016
8.	Grenada	6 September 1991	25	Ninetieth session (July 2007)	Deadline in concluding observations to submit initial report by 31 December 2008
9.	Guinea-Bissau	1 February 2012	5		Deadline in last reminder letter (rule 70 of the rules of procedure) to submit report by 31 August 2016
10.	Papua New Guinea	21 October 2009	7		Deadline in last reminder letter (rule 70 of the rules of procedure) to submit report by 31 August 2016
11.	Samoa	15 May 2009	7		Deadline in last reminder letter (rule 70 of the rules of procedure) to submit report by 31 August 2016
12.	Seychelles	4 August 1993	23	101st session (March 2011)	Deadline in concluding observations to submit initial report by 1 April 2012
13.	Somalia	23 April 1991	25
14.	South Sudan	9 July 2012	4		Bearing in mind that Sudan has been a party to the Covenant since 1986, and that South Sudan became independent from it in July 2011, the Committee, in light of its general comment No. 26 (1997) on issues relating to the continuity of obligations to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (see Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-third Session, Supplement No. 40, vol. I (A/53/40 (Vol. I)), annex VII), is of the view that the people of South Sudan remain under the protection of the Covenant, and thus South Sudan should submit an initial report under article 40 (1) (a) of the Covenant. The Committee decided, on two occasions, to invite South Sudan to submit an initial report (see para. 61 above and A/69/70, Vol. I, para. 75).
15.	State of Palestine	3 July 2015	1		Accession on 2 April 2014
16.	Swaziland	27 June 2005	11	List of issues adopted at the 119th session (March 2017); consideration scheduled for the 120th session (July 2017)	Deadline in last reminder letter (rule 70 of the rules of procedure) to submit report by 31 August 2016
17.	Timor-Leste	19 December 2004	12		Deadline in last reminder letter (rule 70 of the rules of procedure) to submit report by 31 August 2016
18.	Vanuatu	21 February 2010	7		Deadline in last reminder letter (rule 70 of the rules of procedure) to submit report by 31 August 2016

B.States parties the periodic report of which is overdue by 10 years or more (18 States parties)

	State party	Type of report	Date due	Years overdue	Accepted simplified reporting procedure	New due date	Remarks
1.	Afghanistan	Third	15 May 1996	20	12 May 2011	31 October 2013	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 105th session (July 2012)
2.	Republic of the Congo	Third	31 March 2003	14
3.	Democratic People’s Republic of Korea	Third	1 January 2004	13
4.	Egypt	Fourth	1 November 2004	12
5.	Gabon	Third	31 October 2003	13
6.	Gambia	Second	21 June 1985	31			Concluding observations adopted in the absence of the second periodic report at the seventy-fifth session (July 2002)
7.	Guinea	Third	30 September 1994
8.	Guyana	Third	31 March 2003	14
9.	India	Fourth	31 December 2001	15
10.	Lesotho	Second	30 April 2002	14
11.	Mali	Third	1 April 2005	11
12.	Niger	Second	31 March 1994	23
13.	Nigeria	Second	28 October 1999	17
14.	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Second	31 October 1991	25			Concluding observations adopted in the absence of the second periodic report at the eighty-sixth session (March 2006)
15.	Senegal	Fifth	4 April 2000	16
16.	Trinidad and Tobago	Fifth	31 October 2003	13
17.	Viet Nam	Third	1 August 2004	12
18.	Zimbabwe	Second	1 June 2002	14

C.States parties the periodic report of which is between 5 and 10 years overdue (11 States parties)

	State party	Type of report	Date due	Years overdue	Accepted simplified reporting procedure	New due date	Remarks
1.	Barbados	Fourth	29 March 2011	6
2.	Botswana	Second	31 March 2012	5
3.	Brazil	Third	31 October 2009	7
4.	Central African Republic	Third	1 August 10	6
5.	Libya	Fifth	30 October 2010	8
6.	Luxembourg	Fourth	1 April 2008	9
7.	Panama	Fourth	31 March 2012	5
8.	Syrian Arab Republic	Fourth	1 August 2009	7
9.	Tunisia	Sixth	31 March 2012	5
10.	Uganda	Second	1 April 2008	8
11.	Zambia	Fourth	20 July 2011	5

D.States parties the report of which is less than five years overdue (16 States parties)

	State party	Type of report	Date due	Years overdue	Accepted simplified reporting procedure	New due date	Remarks
1.	Angola	Second	30 March 2017
2.	Armenia	Third	30 July 2016
3.	Belgium	Sixth	29 October 2015	1	28 November 2014	1 August 2017	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 117th session (June 2016)
4.	Ethiopia	Second	29 July 2014	2
5.	Iran (Islamic Republic of)	Fourth	2 November 2014	2
6.	Kenya	Fourth	30 July 2015	1
7.	Maldives	Second	30 July 2015	1
8.	Mexico	Sixth	30 March 2014	3	18 December 2013	31 August 2015	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 111th session (July 2014)
9.	Netherlands (including Antilles and Aruba)	Fifth	31 July 2014	2	12 May 2016	1 April 2018	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 119th session (March 2017)
10.	Nicaragua	Fourth	29 October 2012	4
11.	Philippines	Fifth	2 November 2016
12.	Sierra Leone	Second	28 March 2017
13.	Togo	Fifth	1 April 2015	1	24 February 2016	30 November 2017	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 118th session (October 2016)
14.	Turkey	Second	2 November 2016
15.	United Republic of Tanzania	Fifth	1 August 2013	3
16.	Yemen	Sixth	30 March 2015	2

E.States parties the report of which is not yet due (86 States parties)

	State party	Type of report	Date due	Accepted simplified reporting procedure	New due date	Remarks
1.	Albania	Third	26 July 2018
2.	Argentina	Sixth	15 July 2022	20 September 2013		Concluding observations on the fifth periodic report adopted under the simplified reporting procedure
3.	Austria	Sixth	6 November 2021
4.	Azerbaijan	Fifth	4 November 2020
5.	Bangladesh	Second	29 March 2021
6.	Benin	Third	6 November 2019
7.	Bolivia (Plurinational State of)	Fourth	1 November 2018
8.	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Fourth	29 March 2022	1 February 2011		Concluding observations on the third periodic report adopted under the simplified reporting procedure
9.	Burkina Faso	Second	15 July 2020
10.	Burundi	Third	31 October 2018
11.	Cambodia	Third	2 April 2019
12.	Canada	Seventh	24 July 2020
13.	Chad	Third	28 March 2018	30 January 2012
14.	Chile	Seventh	31 July 2019
15.	Colombia	Eight	4 November 2020
16.	Costa Rica	Seventh	31 March 2021
17.	Côte d’Ivoire	Second	2 April 2019
18.	Croatia	Fourth	2 April 2020	8 January 2014		Concluding observations on the third periodic report adopted under the simplified reporting procedure
19.	Cyprus	Fifth	2 April 2020	16 February 2015
20.	Czech Republic	Fourth	26 July 2018	5 July 2013
21.	Denmark	Seventh	15 July 2022	2 March 2013		Concluding observations on the sixth periodic report adopted under the simplified reporting procedure
22.	Djibouti	Second	1 November 2017
23.	Ecuador	Seventh	15 July 2021	1 March 2013		Concluding observations on the sixth periodic report adopted under the simplified reporting procedure
24.	Estonia	Fourth	30 July 2015	6 January 2015	30 April 2017	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 116th session (March 2016)
25.	Finland	Seventh	26 July 2019	8 January 2016
26.	France	Sixth	24 July 2020
27.	Georgia	Fifth	31 July 2019
28.	Germany	Seventh	2 November 2018	28 March 2013
29.	Ghana	Second	15 July 2020
30.	Greece	Third	6 November 2020
31.	Haiti	Second	31 October 2018
32.	Hong Kong, China a	Fourth	30 March 2018
33.	Iceland	Sixth	30 July 2018
34.	Indonesia	Second	26 July 2017
35.	Iraq	Sixth	6 November 2018
36.	Ireland	Fifth	31 July 2019
37.	Israel	Fifth	31 October 2018	9 May 2011		Concluding observations on the fourth periodic report adopted under the simplified reporting procedure
38.	Italy	Seventh	29 March 2022
39.	Jamaica	Fifth	4 November 2021
40.	Japan	Seventh	31 July 2018	30 March 2016
41.	Kazakhstan	Third	15 July 2020
42.	Kuwait	Fourth	15 July 2020
43.	Kyrgyzstan	Third	28 March 2018
44.	Latvia	Fourth	28 March 2020
45.	Lithuania	Fourth	30 July 2017	20 March 2013	1 August 2017	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 117th session (June 2016)
46.	Macao, China b	Second	30 March 2018
47.	Malawi	Second	31 July 2018
48.	Malta	Third	31 October 2020
49.	Mauritania	Second	1 November 2017
50.	Monaco	Fourth	2 April 2021	5 January 2011		Concluding observations on the third periodic report adopted under the simplified reporting procedure
51.	Montenegro	Second	31 October 2020	27 June 2016
52.	Morocco	Seventh	4 November 2020
53.	Mozambique	Second	1 November 2017
54.	Namibia	Third	31 March 2020
55.	Nepal	Third	28 March 2018
56.	New Zealand	Seventh	31 March 2023	28 January 2011		Concluding observations on the sixth periodic report adopted under the simplified reporting procedure
57.	Norway	Seventh	2 November 2016	5 April 2013	1 August 2017	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 117th session (June 2016)
58.	Paraguay	Fourth	30 March 2017	23 October 2015	30 November 2017	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 118th session (October 2016)
59.	Peru	Sixth	30 March 2018	18 February 2018
60.	Poland	Eighth	4 November 2021	6 March 2012		Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report adopted under the simplified reporting procedure
61.	Portugal	Fifth	31 October 2018
62.	Republic of Korea	Fifth	6 November 2019
63.	Republic of Moldova	Fourth	4 November 2022	18 March 2011		Concluding observations on the third periodic report adopted under the simplified reporting procedure
64.	Russian Federation	Eighth	2 April 2019
65.	Rwanda	Fifth	31 March 2019
66.	San Marino	Fourth	6 November 2022	23 February 2011		Concluding observations on the third periodic report adopted under the simplified reporting procedure
67.	Sao Tome and Principe	Initial	10 April 2018
68.	Serbia	Fourth	29 March 2021
69.	Slovakia	Fifth	4 November 2021
70.	Slovenia	Fourth	31 March 2021
71.	South Africa	Second	31 March 2020
72.	Spain	Seventh	24 July 2020	2 October 2015
73.	Sri Lanka	Sixth	31 October 2017
74.	Sudan	Fifth	31 July 2017
75.	Suriname	Fourth	6 November 2020
76.	Sweden	Eighth	31 March 2023	20 June 2013		Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report adopted under the simplified reporting procedure
77.	Tajikistan	Third	26 July 2017
78.	Thailand	Third	29 March 2021
79.	The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	Fourth	24 July 2020
80.	Turkmenistan	Fourth
81.	Ukraine	Eighth	26 July 2018
82.	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	Eighth	24 July 2020
83.	United States of America	Fifth	28 March 2019
84.	Uruguay	Sixth	1 November 2018	26 November 2010		Concluding observations on the fifth periodic report adopted under the simplified reporting procedure
85.	Uzbekistan	Fifth	24 July 2018
86.	Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)	Fifth	24 July 2018

a Although China is not itself a party to the Covenant, the Government of China has honoured the obligations under article 40 with respect to Hong Kong, China, which was previously under British administration. For information on the application of the Covenant in Hong Kong, China, see Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-first Session, Supplement No. 40 ( A/51/40 ), chap. V, sect. B, paras. 78-85.

b Although China is not itself a party to the Covenant, the Government of China has honoured the obligations under article 40 with respect to Macao, China, which was previously under Portuguese administration. For information on the application of the Covenant in Macao, China, see Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 40 ( A/55/40 ), chap. IV.

F.States parties the report of which is yet to be considered by the Committee (22 States parties)

	State party	Type of report	Date due	Date of submission	Accepted simplified reporting procedure	Remarks
1.	Algeria	Fourth	1 November 2011	20 January 2017
2.	Australia	Sixth	1 April 2013	2 May 2016	10 March 2011	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 106th session (October 2012) Accordingly, the new due date to submit the report was set as 20 December 2013
3.	Bahrain	Initial	20 December 2007	2 March 2017
4.	Belarus	Fifth	7 November 2001	30 March 2017	18 February 2014	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 114th session (July 2015) Accordingly, the new due date to submit the report was set as 30 August 2016
5.	Bulgaria	Fourth	29 July 2015	3 November 2016	20 February 2014	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 114th session (July 2015) Accordingly, the new due date to submit the report was set as 30 August 2016
6.	Cameroon	Fifth	30 July 2013	11 October 2016	2 February 2011	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 103rd session (October 2011)
7.	Dominican Republic	Sixth	30 March 2016	20 June 2016
8.	El Salvador	Seventh	1 July 2014	22 November 2016	11 February 2014	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 114th session (July 2015) Accordingly, the new due date to submit the report was set as 30 August 2016
9.	Guatemala	Fourth	30 March 2016	2 December 2016	15 July 2013	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 115th session (October 2015) Accordingly, the new due date to submit the report was set as 30 November 2016
10.	Honduras	Second	31 October 2010	21 October 2015

	State party	Type of report	Date due	Date of submission	Accepted simplified reporting procedure	Remarks
11.	Hungary	Sixth	29 October 2014	16 January 2017	15 October 2014	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 115th session (October 2015) Accordingly, the new due date to submit the report was set as 30 November 2016
12.	Jordan	Fifth	29 October 2014	5 July 2016
13.	Lao People’s Democratic Republic	Initial	25 December 2010	24 March 2017
14.	Lebanon	Third	31 December 1999	8 November 2016
15.	Liberia	Initial	22 December 2005	2 November 2016
16.	Liechtenstein	Second	1 September 2009	24 March 2016
17.	Madagascar	Fourth	23 March 2011	9 November 2015
18.	Mauritius	Fifth	1 April 2010	23 May 2016
19.	Mongolia	Sixth	1 April 2015	30 March 2016
20.	Pakistan	Initial	23 September 2011	19 October 2015
21.	Romania	Fifth	28 April	28 September 2016	15 July 2013	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 110th session (March 2014) Accordingly, the new due date to submit the report was set as 30 April 2015
22.	Switzerland	Fourth	1 November 2015	7 July 2016	23 January 2014	List of issues prior to reporting adopted at the 112th session (October 2014) Accordingly, the new due date to submit the report was set as 13 November 2015