A/71/44 to contribute to a substantive evaluation of the simplified reporting procedure. The Committee took into account the report of the secretariat on the status of the optional reporting procedure (CAT/C/47/2) and the note by the secretariat on the simplified reporting procedure (HRI/MC/2014/4) issued following the adoption by the General Assembly of resolution 68/268. At its fifty-fifth session, the Committee held a discussion on a preliminary evaluation of the simplified reporting procedure. 31. In the Committee’s view, the fact that only 4 of the 127 States parties that are at the periodic reporting stage declined to report under it indicates the success of this procedure; 92 have expressly accepted to report under it and the remaining 31 have not yet answered or have not yet been invited to report under it. In addition, the fact that other treaty bodies have also adopted this procedure indicates its clear added value for the reporting system. It should also be noted that, on 29 January 2016, for the first time, a State with a long overdue initial report, Côte dʼIvoire, accepted the simplified reporting procedure offered by the Committee (see sect. II.D.). 32. The updated information relating to the procedure is available from a dedicated web page (www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CAT/Pages/ReportingProcedures.aspx). C. Reminders for overdue initial and periodic reports 33. 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. 34. The Committee drew the attention of those States parties to the fact that delays in reporting seriously hamper the implementation of the Convention in the States parties and the ability of the Committee to carry out its function of monitoring such 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 such review would be carried out on the basis of information that is 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. The Committee would like to reiterate its support to 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. The Committee held a meeting with the Initiative during its fifty-fifth session and attended several of its activities. D. Examination of measures taken by a State party in the absence of a report 35. The Committee decided at its fifty-second session to take action with regard to States parties whose initial reports were long overdue. Noting that the initial reports of Cabo Verde and Seychelles had been overdue since 1993, the Committee decided to send a specific reminder to those States parties to submit their initial reports before the fifty-fourth session of the Committee. At the end of the fifty-third session, the Committee decided to offer those States parties the simplified reporting procedure. If they did not accept the simplified reporting procedure or if reports under the traditional reporting procedure were not received pursuant to article 67 of its rules of procedure, the Committee would conduct at a future session an examination, in the absence of a report, of the measures taken by each GE.16-13567 7