United Nations Human Rights Website - Treaty Bodies Database - Document - Sessional/Annual Report of Committee - 288. The Committee reiterated its concern at the lack of time available during its two annual regular meetings to cope with the great complexity of its work and the intensive pace of its operations resulting from the increase in the number of States parties to the Convention, the new cycle of periodic reports submitted by States parties, the increasing amount of information received under the inquiry procedure and the growing number of communications submitted under the individual communications procedure. 289. The Committee once again stressed that, in accordance with rule 1 of its rules of procedure, it shall hold meetings as might be required for the satisfactory performance of its functions and that in accordance with article 18, paragraph 3, of the Convention, the Secretary-General shall provide the necessary staff and facilities for the effective performance of the functions of the Committee under the Convention. The Committee also recalled that the General Assembly itself, in numerous resolutions on the effective implementation of international instruments on human rights, the most recent of which was resolution 51/87 of 12 December 1996, reiterated its request that the Secretary-General provide adequate resources in respect of each treaty body. 290. Keeping in mind the budgetary constraints of the United Nations, the Committee decided to request the General Assembly to authorize the Secretary-General to extend its spring sessions by one additional week, beginning in 1998, instead of scheduling an additional regular session of one week's duration each year, as it had initially requested. In addition, at its 298th meeting, on 9 May 1997, the Committee decided to request its Chairman to address a letter on this issue to the Secretary-General. The Committee agreed, in particular, that the Secretary-General should be requested to extend its twentieth session in May 1998 by one week, as an interim measure before action is taken by the General Assembly on the request for an extension of the Committee's spring sessions on a regular basis. VIII. ADOPTION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON ITS ACTIVITIES 291. In accordance with article 24 of the Convention, the Committee shall submit an annual report on its activities to the States parties and to the General Assembly. 292. Since the Committee will hold its second regular session of each calendar year in late November, which coincides with the regular sessions of the General Assembly, the Committee decided to adopt its annual report at the end of its spring session for appropriate transmission to the General Assembly during the same calendar year. 293. Accordingly, at its 298th meeting, held on 9 May 1997, the Committee considered the draft report on its activities at the seventeenth and eighteenth sessions (CAT/C/XVIII/CRP.1 and Add.1-8). The report, as amended in the course of the discussion, was adopted by the Committee unanimously. An account of the activities of the Committee at its nineteenth session (10 to 21 November 1997) will be included in the annual report of the Committee for 1998. Notes 1 Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 44 (A/45/44), paras. http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/de75e94f920bd0a0802565a600537744?Opendocument (46 of 109)16/10/2006 9:54:12 AM