A/76/44 B. Reminders for overdue initial and periodic reports 27. At its fifty-third session, the Committee decided to send reminders to all States parties whose initial reports were overdue and to all States parties whose periodic reports were four or more years overdue. 28. The Committee drew the attention of those States parties to the fact that delays in reporting seriously hampered the implementation of the Convention in the States parties and the ability of the Committee to carry out its function of monitoring that implementation. The Committee requested information on the progress made by those States parties in fulfilling their reporting obligations and on any obstacles that they might be facing in that respect. It also informed them that, in accordance with rule 67 of its rules of procedure, the Committee might proceed with a review of the implementation of the Convention in the State party in the absence of a report, and that the review would be carried out on the basis of information that was available to the Committee, including sources from outside the United Nations. In its annual reports, the Committee also reminds States parties of their reporting obligations under the Convention. At its sixty-third session, the Committee held a meeting with States with long-overdue initial reports so as to receive their feedback on the challenges they faced in the drafting of initial reports and related needs. The Committee reiterates its support for the Convention against Torture Initiative, which is actively engaged in the universal ratification of the Convention and its full implementation, including the compliance of States with their reporting obligations. During the sixty-ninth session, the Convention against Torture Initiative made a statement on the particular relevance of the Committee’s work in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and provided an overview of the related challenges and the Initiative’s activities. C. Examination of measures taken by a State party in the absence of a report 29. The Committee continued to take action with regard to States parties whose initial reports were long overdue, in accordance with the decision taken at its fifty-second session to do so (A/69/44, para. 46). The Committee followed its well-established practice of sending specific reminders to States parties to remind them to submit their long-overdue initial reports and to offer them the simplified reporting procedure. If they did not accept the simplified reporting procedure or if initial reports were not received pursuant to article 67 of its rules of procedure, the Committee arranged to conduct, at a future session, an examination in the absence of a report. As at 28 April 2021, 13 States with long-overdue initial reports (Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Côte dʼIvoire, the Dominican Republic, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, the Niger, Nigeria, Seychelles and Somalia) had been offered the simplified reporting procedure,7 and the Committee had examined the situation of two of those States (Antigua and Barbuda and Cabo Verde) in the absence of a report (A/74/44, para. 33). Bangladesh, Malawi, the Niger, Seychelles and Somalia submitted their initial reports. 30. At its sixty-eighth session, the Committee decided to examine the situation in Nigeria in the absence of its initial report at the November 2020 session; the examination was postponed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. III. Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 19 of the Convention 31. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impossibility of holding in-person sessions, the consideration of reports and one country situation initially scheduled for 2020 – Belgium (CAT/C/BEL/4), Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (CAT/C/BOL/3), Kyrgyzstan (CAT/C/KGZ/3), Lithuania (CAT/C/LTU/4), Serbia (CAT/C/SRB/3), the State of Palestine (CAT/C/PSE/1), Sweden (CAT/C/SWE/8), Ukraine (CAT/C/UKR/7) and the country 7 6 A/69/44, para. 46; A/70/44, para. 40; A/71/44, para. 35; A/72/44, para. 34; A/73/44, para. 34; A/74/44, para. 33; and A/75/44, paras. 32–35.