A/71/44 Summary The present annual report covers the period from 16 May 2015 to 13 May 2016, during which the Committee against Torture held its fifty-fifth, fifty-sixth and fifty-seventh sessions. As at 13 May 2016, there were 159 States parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. During the period under review, the Committee considered, and adopted concluding observations on, 17 reports submitted under article 19 of the Convention (see chap. III). At its fifty-fifth session, it considered the reports of Iraq, Slovakia and Switzerland. At its fifty-sixth session, it considered the reports of Austria, Azerbaijan, China, Denmark, Jordan and Liechtenstein, as well as the reports of Hong Kong, China, and Macau, China. At its fifty-seventh session, it considered the reports of France, Israel, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey. The Committee deplores the fact that some States parties do not comply with their reporting obligations under article 19 of the Convention. At the time of reporting, there were 28 States parties with overdue initial reports and 35 States parties with overdue periodic reports (see chap. II). The Committee’s procedure for following up on concluding observations continued to develop during the reporting period (see chap. IV). The Committee expresses its appreciation to those States parties that have provided timely and thorough follow-up information. The Committee’s procedure under article 20 continued during the reporting period (see chap. V). Under article 22 of the Convention, the Committee adopted 29 decisions on the merits and declared 12 communications inadmissible. Consideration of complaints was discontinued in 18 cases (see chap. VI). A total of 749 complaints have been registered since the entry into force of the Convention, including 70 since the writing of the previous report. The Committee’s workload under article 22 continues to grow, as demonstrated by the large number of complaints registered during the reporting period. At the end of the fifty-seventh session, 159 complaints were pending consideration (see chap. VI). The Committee again notes that some States have failed to implement the decisions adopted on complaints. The Committee has continued to seek to ensure implementation of its decisions through its Rapporteurs for follow-up to article 22 (see chap. VI). The Committee reaffirmed its support to the treaty body strengthening outcome while stressing the necessity to allocate sufficient staff resources so as to enable the Committee to address its backlog of individual complaints and therefore efficiently use the additional time of session provided under General Assembly resolution 68/128. GE.16-13567 (E) 300816 iii