A/65/44 II. Submission of reports by States parties under article 19 of the Convention 30. During the period covered by the present report, 16 reports from States parties under article 19 of the Convention were submitted to the Secretary-General. Initial reports were submitted by Ethiopia, Ghana, Ireland, Mongolia and Turkmenistan. Second periodic reports were submitted by Cambodia, Cuba and Kuwait. Third periodic reports were submitted by Armenia, Tunisia and Turkey. A combined third and fourth periodic report was submitted by Sri Lanka. Fourth periodic reports were submitted by Belarus, Bulgaria and Ecuador. A combined second to fifth periodic report was submitted by Bosnia and Herzegovina. A combined fourth and fifth periodic report was submitted by Monaco. A fifth periodic report was submitted by Germany. 31. As at 14 May 2010, the Committee had received a total of 237 reports and there were 229 overdue reports (see annex XI to the present report). A. Invitation to submit periodic reports 32. At its forty-first session, the Committee decided to invite States parties, in the last paragraph of the concluding observations, to submit their next periodic reports within a four-year period from the adoption of the concluding observations, and to indicate the due date of the next report in the same paragraph. It also decided not to request consolidated reports when inviting States parties to submit their next periodic report. B. Optional reporting procedure 33. At its thirty-eighth session, in May 2007 (see A/62/44, para. 23), the Committee adopted a new procedure on a trial basis which includes the preparation and adoption of a list of issues to be transmitted to States parties prior to the submission of a State party’s periodic report and the State party’s replies to this list of issues would constitute the State party’s report under article 19 of the Convention. The Committee was of the view that this procedure would assist States parties in preparing focused reports, would guide the preparation and content of the reports, would facilitate reporting by States parties and would strengthen their capacity to fulfil their reporting obligations in a timely and effective manner. However, this new procedure requires that these reports are considered within the shortest possible period of time after being received by the Committee otherwise the added value of the procedure will be defeated as new lists of issues would have to be adopted and transmitted by the Committee to States parties to update the information they provided. 34. At its forty-second session, in May 2009 (see A/64/44, para. 27), the Committee decided to continue, on a regular basis, with this procedure. As at 14 May 2010 and since the adoption of this new reporting procedure, the Committee has adopted and transmitted to States parties lists of issues prior to reporting for reports due in 2009, 2010 and 2011; in total, 39 such lists have been transmitted. 35. For reports due in 2009, the Committee adopted, and transmitted in 2008, lists of issues prior to reporting with regard to 11 States parties: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Greece, Kuwait, Monaco, Peru, South Africa and Turkey. Out of these States parties, nine have formally or informally accepted this new reporting procedure (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Greece, Kuwait, Monaco, Peru and Turkey) and six have submitted their report under this procedure (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Ecuador, 6 GE.10-44721