The UNCRC Simplified Reporting Procedure (SRP)

1. Documents & Resources

• The SRP FAQ document developed by Child Rights Connect’s Task Force on SRP: English, Français, Español
• CRC Committee webpage on SRP, including Information note for States parties and Information note for Stakeholders
• OHCHR paper on the Simplified Reporting Procedure for the Twenty-sixth meeting of chairpersons of the human rights treaty bodies
• CCPR Working Methods on the SRP
• CAT Working Methods on the SRP
• CEDAW Working Methods on the SRP
• CRPD Working Methods on the SRP
• UN General Assembly resolution 68/268
• The Geneva Academy report on TB strengthening is proposing the SRP to become the only and main methodology for the TB system.
• The Human Rights Committee assessment of the impact of the SRP (2018).
• Comparative Table of Standard and Simplified Reporting Cycles

2. Calendar of invited countries

For identifying the invited States and whether they opt-in, check the CRC SRP calendar.

3. Updates

Decision No. 18 on implementation of the simplified reporting procedure for reports to the Committee (2 February 2023)

At its 2695th meeting, the Committee decided that the simplified reporting procedure as the standard reporting procedure for periodic reports under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and for initial reports under the Optional Protocols will start to be implemented from 1 January 2024. States parties should inform the Secretariat if they wish to opt-out by 30 September 2024.

As of September 2023, these countries have opted-out and will be reviewed under the traditional reporting procedure: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Egypt, Mexico, Myanmar, Angola, Bolivia, China. 

Decision No. 17 on simplified reporting procedure for initial reports under the two Optional Protocols (2 February 2023)

At its 2695th meeting, the Committee decided to apply the opt-out Simplified Reporting Procedure to the initial reports under two Optional Protocols on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Decision no. 15 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (7 February 2022)

At its 2574th meeting, the Committee decided:
for reports submitted under the Convention, to move towards a predictable review cycle of 8 years in order to ensure regular and timely reporting by all States parties, subject to the capacity and adequate resourcing of the Committee and its secretariat;
4 years after the review, to undertake a mid-cycle follow-up procedure focusing on the six main areas, in respect of which urgent measures must be taken, identified in the concluding observations;
to offer the simplified reporting procedure as the standard reporting procedure with the possibility for States parties to opt out if they prefer to report under the traditional procedure.

The timeline of the implementation of the decision is yet to be defined.

Key data, as of June 2022

• Since the CRC Committee started implementing the Simplified Reporting Procedure, it invited 111 States parties whose periodic reports were due by September 1, 2019 onwards, to be reviewed under the SRP. 40 States parties have opted-in.
• LOIPRs were adopted for 27 countries: Bhutan, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Ecuador, Estonia, Fiji, France, Gambia, Georgia, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Peru, Poland, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Zambia
• 8 countries were reviewed under the Simplified Reporting Procedure: Hungary (session in January 2020), Luxembourg (session in June 2021), Poland and Switzerland (session in September 2021), Netherlands (session in February 2022), Chile, Croatia, Zambia (session in May 2022)