III. REPORTS BY STATES PARTIES SUSblITTED UNDER ARTICLE 40 OF THE COVRNART States parties have undertaken to submit reports in accordance with article 40, paragraph 1, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights within one year of the entry into force of the Covenant for the States parties concerned and thereafter whenever the Committee so requests. In order to assist States parties in submitting the reports required under article 40, paragraph 1 (a), of the Covenant, the Human Rights Committee, at its second session, approved general guidelines regarding the form and contents of initial reports. 91 30. 31. Furthermore, in accordance with article 40, paragraph 1 (b), of the Covenant, the Committee at its thirteenth session adopted a decision on periodicity requiring States parties to submit subsequent reports to the Committee every five years. $1 At the same session, the Committee adopted guidelines regarding the form and contents of periodic reports from States parties under article 40, paragraph 1 (b), of the Covenant. $1 At its thirty-ninth session, the Committee adopted an amendment to its guidelines for the submission of initial and periodic reports relating to reporting by States parties on action taken in response to the issuance by the Committee of views under the Optional Protocol. fi/ 32. As indicated in paragraph 21 above, the Committee at its forty-second session revised its general guidelines for the submission of initial and periodic reports to take into account the consolidated guidelines for the initial part of the reports of States parties to be submitted under the various international human rights instruments, including the Covenant (HRI/1991/1). The text of the consolidated guidelines (HRI/1991/1): the text of the general guidelines relating to the form and contents of initial reports, as revised (CCPR1C151Rev.l); and the text of the general guidelines regarding the form and contents of periodic reports, as revised (CCPR/C/20/Rev.l) are contained in annex VII to the present report. At each of its sessions during the reporting period, the Committee was informed of and considered the status of the submission of reports (see annex IV below). 33. The action taken, information received and relevant issues placed before the Committee during the reporting period (fortieth to forty-second sessions) are summarised in paragraphs 35 to 41 below. 34. Fortieth session 35. With regard to reports submitted since the thirty-ninth session, the Committee was informed that the second periodic report of Austria and the third periodic reports of Canada and Poland had been received. 3fi. The Committee decided to send reminders to the Governments of Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the Niger and the Sudan, whose initial reports were overdue. In addition, the Committee decided to send reminders to the Governments of the following States parties whose second periodic reports were -8-