Part II The law: International human rights law and disability Section I Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 4.2. EXAMINING PERIODIC STATE REPORTS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN CRPD 121 Each State party to the Convention must submit to the Committee an initial comprehensive report on measures taken to implement the Convention within two years of the Convention entering into force for that State, followed by subsequent reports every four years or when requested to do so by the Committee (article 35). The Committee has published reporting guidelines concerning both initial and periodic reports on its website.122 The proceedings of the Committee are webcast.123 The Committee has said that it: …. welcomes National Human Rights Institutions to provide country-specific information on issues relevant to the implementation of the Convention in the months prior to the adoption of the List of Issues or prior to the examination of the State party’s report.124 The Committee has suggested that NHRIs can contribute to the State examination process by: • Providing written information that is concise, specific, reliable and as objective as possible • Highlighting priority concerns and suggesting possible country-specific recommendations to facilitate the work of the Committee • Submitting “alternative reports” which follow the same form of presentation as reports submitted by countries.125 NHRIs who have engaged with other treaty monitoring bodies will be familiar with the stages of the State examination process. The diagram below sets out these stages. NHRIs can engage and contribute at each stage of the process, including commenting on draft State reports prior to submission and during the examination itself. Examples of NHRIs that have done so are included in Part III of this Manual. Submission of initial or periodic review by the State Party to the Committee Submission of alternative reports and additional information by third parties including NHRIs Selection of list of issues at pre-sessional meeting or full plenary of the CRPD Committee Publication of the list of issues by the CRPD Committee Opportunity for further written submissions from third parties State’s response Publication of the list of issues by the CRPD Committee Concluding observations (findings and recommendations) agreed and published Responses by (some) State Parties 121 CRPD Committee, Statement: “Achieving gender balance and equitable geographical distribution in the elections of members of the Committee” (April 12, 2017), available at www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/CRPD/Statements/FINAL0504.docx. 122 CRPD/C/2/3. 123 See www.treatybodywebcast.org. 124 See ‘Information for National Human Rights Institutions and Civil Society Organisations’, available at www.ohchr.org/EN/ HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/CRPDIndex.aspx. 125 Ibid. Chapter 4: International monitoring: The tasks and functioning of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities | 57