A/63/175 laws and better protection mechanisms for labour migrants. They recommended that safeguards for detainees be strengthened and that rehabilitation and reintegration be put at the centre of Moldova’s penal policies and laws. 10. The Special Rapporteur recalls requests for invitations sent to the following States: Algeria (request first made in 1997); Afghanistan (2005); Belarus (2005); Bolivia (2005); Côte d’Ivoire (2005); Egypt (1996); Eritrea (2005); Ethiopia (2005); Fiji (2006); Gambia (2006); India (1993); Iran (Islamic Republic of) (2005); Israel (2002); Liberia (2006); Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (2005); Papua New Guinea (2006); Saudi Arabia (2005); Syrian Arab Republic (2005); Tunisia (1998); Turkmenistan (2003); Uzbekistan (2006); Yemen (2005); and Zimbabwe (2005). He regrets that some of these requests are long-standing. Key press statements 11. On 4 January 2008, the Special Rapporteur jointly with other special procedures mandate holders issued a statement expressing deep concern at the loss of life and destruction of property following election-related violence in Kenya. 12. On 10 April, jointly with other mandate holders, the Special Rapporteur issued a statement calling for restraint and transparency as mass arrests were reported in the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China and surrounding areas. 13. On 29 April, the Special Rapporteur issued a joint statement with other mandate holders concerning acts of intimidation, violence and torture related to the parliamentary and presidential elections in Zimbabwe. 14. On 26 June, on the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the Special Rapporteur, together with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, the Committee against Torture, the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued a joint statement. It called attention to, among other things, the need to strengthen the protection of women and persons with disabilities from torture and ill-treatment. 15. On 26 June, the Special Rapporteur issued a joint statement with other mandate holders concerning widespread reports of politically motivated violence in Zimbabwe in the country’s presidential run-off election scheduled for 27 June. Highlights of key presentations/consultations/training courses 16. On 23 February, the Special Rapporteur delivered the opening speech entitled “Instruments that Zimbabwean civil society can use in the fight against torture”, in Harare, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Human Rights NGO Forum. 17. On 11 March, the Special Rapporteur participated in a panel discussion on “Strengthening the protection of women from torture: applying a gender-sensitive definition of torture”, which was organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Government of Switzerland. 18. On 12 March, the Special Rapporteur chaired a panel discussion at the Human Rights Council on “The role of doctors in the fight against torture”. 6 08-44075