recommendations in the concluding observations on the previous report, so as to close the reporting cycle. The “review procedure” – review of implementation without a report According to this procedure, a committee may proceed with the examination of the state of implementation of the relevant treaty by the State party even though it has not received any State report. The committee may formulate a list of issues and questions for the State party, which is invited to send a delegation to attend the session. Information may be received from United Nations partners and NGOs and, on the basis of this information and the dialogue with the State party, the committee will issue its concluding observations including recommendations. The review may proceed even if the State party declines to send a delegation to the session. The review procedure is used only in exceptional cases; in very many cases, notification by the committee that it intends to consider the situation in a country in the absence of a report is sufficient to persuade the State party to produce a report within a short period of time. The importance of follow-up to treaty body recommendations Treaty bodies have no means of enforcing their recommendations. Nevertheless, most States take the reporting process seriously, and the committees have proved successful in raising concerns relating to the implementation of the treaties in many States. In order to assist States in implementing their recommendations, the treaty bodies have begun to introduce procedures to ensure effective follow-up to their concluding observations. Some (Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Human Rights Committee, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and Committee against Torture) request, in their concluding observations, that States report back to the country rapporteur or follow-up rapporteur within one year (sometimes two (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women)) on the measures taken in response to specific recommendations or “priority concerns” that are rapidly implementable. The rapporteur then reports back to the committee. Some members of treaty bodies have undertaken visits to State parties, at their invitation, in order to follow up on the report and the implementation of concluding observations. What happens if a State party does not report? Reporting to the treaty bodies can be a considerable challenge. A State that has ratified all nine core international human rights treaties is expected to produce more than 20 human rights reports over a ten-year period: that is one every six months. States must also produce responses to lists of 29