A/66/268 I. Introduction 1. The present report, submitted pursuant to paragraph 39 of General Assembly resolution 65/205, is the thirteenth submitted to the General Assembly by the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It is the first report submitted by the present mandate holder. 2. The Special Rapporteur wishes to draw attention to his report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/16/52), in which he outlined his vision, working methods and priorities for his tenure as Special Rapporteur. II. Activities related to the mandate 3. Below is a summary of the activities carried out by the Special Rapporteur pursuant to the mandate since the submission of his report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/16/52 and Add.1-6). Communications concerning human rights violations 4. During the period from 1 December 2010 to 1 July 2011, he sent 20 letters of allegations of torture to 18 Governments, and 95 urgent appeals on behalf of persons who might be at risk of torture or other forms of ill-treatment to 48 Governments. In the same period 82 responses were received. Country visits 5. With respect to fact-finding missions, an anticipated country visit to Kyrgyzstan for May 2011 was postponed, at the request of the Government, owing to ongoing political developments. By letter dated 28 July 2011, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic proposed a country visit for the second half of August 2011. The Special Rapporteur welcomes this invitation; however, because of the short notice, he is discussing potential dates with the Government at the time of submitting the present report. He has accepted an invitation from the Government of Iraq to visit the country in October 2011. He has also been invited to visit Bahrain and is discussing dates with the Government. In addition to the pending country visit requests (see A/HRC/16/52, para. 6) the Special Rapporteur has requested a visit to Morocco with respect to Western Sahara. 6. The Special Rapporteur conducted a visit to Tunisia from 15 to 22 May 2011. He shared his preliminary findings with the interim Government and issued a press statement on 22 May expressing his appreciation to the Government for the full cooperation extended to him. He noted that the Government had undertaken a series of positive steps towards ensuring accountability and long-term reforms. However, he is of the view that a “wait and see attitude” in anticipation of the Constituent Assembly election may be hampering the possibility of delivering bold and aggressive steps in restoring justice for past and recent abuses. The Special Rapporteur stressed that swift, effective and independent criminal investigations against alleged perpetrators of torture and ill-treatment should be ensured and administrative programmes should be launched offering redress and reparation services to victims of past and recent violations. The report of the mission to Tunisia will be presented to the Human Rights Council at its nineteenth session in March 2012. 4 11-44570