A/64/215 I. Introduction 1. The present report is the eleventh submitted to the General Assembly by the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 63/166 (para. 38) and is the fifth report submitted by the present mandate holder. The report includes issues of special concern, in particular overall trends and developments with respect to issues falling within his mandate. 2. The Special Rapporteur draws attention to document A/HRC/10/44 and Corr.1, his main report to the Human Rights Council, in which he analysed the question of the death penalty in light of the prohibition of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. The Special Rapporteur found the distinction between corporal and capital punishment increasingly challenged by the dynamic method of interpretation of the right to personal integrity and human dignity and the universal trend towards the abolition of capital punishment, and called for a further study on the subject. He also examined a number of areas where torture and ill-treatment might occur as a direct or indirect result of current approaches to drug control policies, including the impact of those policies on access to palliative care and pain relief. 3. Document A/HRC/10/44/Add.4 and Corr.1 covered the period from 16 December 2007 to 14 December 2008 and contained allegations of individual cases of torture or general references to the phenomenon of torture, urgent appeals on behalf of individuals who might be at risk of torture or other forms of ill-treatment and responses by Governments. The Special Rapporteur continues to observe that a large number of communications are not responded to by Governments. 4. Document A/HRC/10/44/Add.5 contains a summary of the information provided by Governments and non-governmental organizations on the implementation of the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur following his country visits. Document A/HRC/10/44/Add.1 is a preliminary note on the mission to Equatorial Guinea, and documents A/HRC/10/44/Add.2 and 3 are reports of country visits to Denmark and the Republic of Moldova, respectively. II. Activities related to the mandate 5. The Special Rapporteur draws the attention of the General Assembly to the activities he carried out pursuant to his mandate since the submission of his report to the Human Rights Council. A. Communications concerning human rights violations 6. During the period from 17 December 2008 to 31 July 2009, the Special Rapporteur sent 28 letters of allegations of torture to 20 Governments, and 99 urgent appeals on behalf of persons who might be at risk of torture or other forms of ill-treatment to 46 Governments. In the same period, 83 responses were received. 4 09-43792