A/HRC/22/53 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted to the Human Rights Council in accordance with Council resolution 16/23. 2. Reports of country visits to Tajikistan and Morocco are contained in documents A/HRC/22/53/Add.1 and Add.2, respectively. A/HRC/22/53/Add.3 contains an update on follow-up measures and A/HRC/22/53/Add.4 contains observations made by the Special Rapporteur on some of the cases reflected in the communication reports A/HRC/20/30, A/HRC/21/49 and A/HRC/22/67. II. Activities of the Special Rapporteur A. Upcoming country visits and pending requests 3. The Special Rapporteur plans to visit Bahrain in May 2013 and Guatemala in the second half of 2013 and is engaged with the respective Governments to find mutually agreeable dates. The Special Rapporteur has accepted an invitation to visit Thailand in February 2014. He also notes with appreciation an outstanding invitation to visit Iraq. 4. The Special Rapporteur has reiterated his interest to conduct country visits to a number of States where there are pending requests for invitations: Cuba; Ethiopia; Ghana; Kenya; United States of America; Uzbekistan; Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) and Zimbabwe. The Special Rapporteur has also recently requested to visit Chad, Côte d‟Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Georgia, Mexico and Viet Nam. B. Highlights of key presentations and consultations 5. On 10 September 2012, the Special Rapporteur participated in a Chatham House event in London hosted by REDRESS on “Enforcing the absolute prohibition against torture”. 6. On 26 September 2012, the Special Rapporteur met the Director General of the National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea, who was visiting Washington D.C. 7. Between 22 and 24 October 2012, the Special Rapporteur presented his interim report (A/67/279) to the General Assembly and participated in two side events: one, held at the Permanent Mission of Denmark to the United Nations in New York, on “Reprisals against victims of torture and other ill-treatment” and the other organized jointly with the World Organisation Against Torture, Penal Reform International, the Centre for Constitutional Rights and Human Rights Watch on “The death penalty and human rights: the way forward”. He also met with representatives of the Permanent Missions of Guatemala and Uruguay. 8. On 17 November 2012, the Special Rapporteur participated in a symposium organized by New York University on the practice of solitary confinement, entitled “Solitary: wry fancies and stark realities”. 9. From 2 to 6 December 2012, the Special Rapporteur conducted a follow-up visit to Uruguay (A/HRC/22/53/Add.3), at the invitation of the Government, to assess improvements and identify remaining challenges regarding torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 3