Summary The present annual report covers the period from 24 May 2014 to 15 May 2015, during which the Committee against Torture held its fifty-third and fifty-fourth sessions. As at 15 May 2015 there were 158 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, 16 State party reports submitted under article 19 of the Convention. At its fifty-third session it considered the reports of Australia, Burundi, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Sweden, Ukraine, the United States of America and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; at its fifty-fourth session it considered the reports of Colombia, the Congo, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Romania, Serbia, Spain and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (see chap. III). The Committee deplores the fact that 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 37 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 25 decisions on the merits and declared 1 communication inadmissible. Consideration of complaints was discontinued in 31 cases (see chap. VI). A total of 679 complaints have been registered since the entry into force of the Convention, including 75 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-fourth session, 148 complaints were pending consideration (see chap. VI). The Committee again notes that some States have failed to implement the decisions adopted on complaints. It has continued to seek to ensure implementation of its decisions through its rapporteurs for follow-up to article 22 (see chap. VI). The Committee marked the thirtieth anniversary of the Convention, which was celebrated in the context of the Convention against Torture Initiative, a 10-year initiative to promote universal ratification of the Convention and its full implementation (see sect. I.M). The Committee held a retreat on its working methods, which led to important decisions under its main core activities (see sect. I.N). The Committee reaffirmed its support for 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 co mplaints and therefore efficiently use the additional time of session provided under General Assembly resolution 68/268. GE.15-13195 3/24