A/73/44 I. Organizational and other matters A. States parties to the Convention 1. As at 18 May 2018, the closing date of the sixty-third session of the Committee against Torture, there were 163 States parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The Convention was adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 39/46 and entered into force on 26 June 1987. 2. Since the previous report, Comoros ratified the Convention on 25 May 2017. On 12 March 2018, the Marshall Islands acceded to the Convention. The Committee calls upon all States that have not ratified the Convention to do so, and calls upon those that are already a party to accept all the procedures of the Convention, in order to enable the Committee to fulfil all aspects of its mandate. 3. All information on the status of the treaty, including declarations under articles 20, 21 and 22 and reservations and objections made by States parties with respect to the Convention, can be found at http://treaties.un.org. B. Sessions and agendas of the Committee 4. The Committee has held three sessions since the adoption of its previous annual report. The sixty-first session (1542nd to 1569th meetings) was held from 24 July to 11 August 2017, the sixty-second session (1570th to 1614th meetings) from 6 November to 6 December 2017, and the sixty-third session (1615th to 1652nd meetings) from 23 April to 18 May 2018. Sessions were held at the United Nations Office at Geneva. 5. At its 1542nd meeting, held on 24 July 2017, the Committee adopted the items listed in the provisional agenda submitted by the Secretary-General (CAT/C/61/1) as the agenda of its sixty-first session. 6. At its 1570th meeting, held on 6 November 2017, the Committee adopted the items listed in the provisional agenda submitted by the Secretary-General (CAT/C/62/1) as the agenda of its sixty-second session. 7. At its 1615th meeting, held on 23 April 2018, the Committee adopted the items listed in the provisional agenda submitted by the Secretary-General (CAT/C/63/1) as the agenda of its sixty-third session. 8. An account of the deliberations and decisions of the Committee at those three sessions is contained in the relevant summary records (CAT/C/SR.1542–1652). C. Membership, officers and mandates 9. Following the sixteenth meeting of States parties to the Convention, held on 5 October 2017, the membership of the Committee changed as of 1 January 2018. The lists of members, officers and mandates from 13 May 2017 to 31 December 2018 are contained in the annexes to the present document. D. Oral report of the Chair to the General Assembly 10. In accordance with paragraph 35 of General Assembly resolution 68/156, on 13 October 2017 the Chair of the Committee presented an oral report to and engaged in an interactive dialogue with the Assembly at its seventy-second session (see the Committee web page, hosted on the website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), www.ohchr.org). 1