The Independent Commission for Human Rights Shadow reports: Such reports are prepared by a civil society organization or a coalition of civil society organizations to provide the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women with additional information or information overlooked by the national reports about the effort made by the governments to implement the Convention, especially if the national periodic reports are prepared without the presence of civil society organizations. The submission of periodic reports is neither a formal exercise nor a procedural matter. Conversely, they show to what extent States Parties fulfill their obligations, and allow the Committee to evaluate their achievements thereof and monitor and identify the strategies adopted. This grants the Committee the opportunity to accurately assess the obstacles to the implementation of the Convention and understand the strengths and weaknesses States Parties have in this respect. Preparation of periodic reports gives an opportunity for reviewing laws, policies and practices to identify to what extent States Parties are committed to the provisions of the Convention. Thus, they enable the Committee to measure the positive impact of States Parties’ commitment to presenting periodic reports on the implementation of the Convention. They shed light on the laws that discriminate against women, the gap between the provisions of the law and their implementation, the changes effected due to accession to the Convention and the obstacles to the implementation of the Convention. According to article (18) of the Convention, the Committee holds regular sessions every year for (3) weeks each. A State Party to the Convention also holds upon a decision of its members or upon request special sessions. It usually invites (8) States Parties to the Convention to present their reports in each session. Priority is given to suspended and initial reports, but with taking into account balance among reports in terms of equitable geographical distribution. A pre-session work group of five Committee members (Chairperson, “3” Vice Chairpersons, Rapporteur) reviews the national report in coordination with the representative of the reporting State (Rapporteur). They hold pre-session, five-day closed meetings in which they consider the reports and draft a list of questions. The members of the Committee desist from participating in the process of considering the reports of their own States Parties for the purpose of neutrality. These periodic reports generally consist of four parts, the first being a 20