A/HRC/13/39 I. Introduction 1. This report, the fourth by the current mandate holder, is submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 8/8. 2. The summary of communications sent by the Special Rapporteur from 15 December 2008 to 18 December 2009 and the replies received thereto from Governments by 31 December 2009 are contained in document A/HRC/13/39/Add.1. Document A/HRC/13/39/Add.6 contains a summary of the information provided by Governments and non-governmental sources on implementation of the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur and his predecessors following country visits. Documents A/HRC/13/39/Add.2, 3 and 4 are reports of country visits to Uruguay, Kazakhstan and Equatorial Guinea, respectively. Document A/HRC/13/39/Add.7 is a preliminary note on the visit to Jamaica, while document A/HRC/13/39/Add.5 contains a study of the phenomena of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including an assessment of conditions of detention, in the world today. II. Activities of the Special Rapporteur 3. The Special Rapporteur draws the attention of the Council to his fifth interim report to the General Assembly (A/64/215), in which he described his activities for the period January to July 2009.1 He also informs the Council of the key activities undertaken since the submission of that report to the General Assembly on 3 August 2009. A. Communications concerning human rights violations 4. During the period from 15 December 2008 to 18 December 2009, the Special Rapporteur sent 70 letters of allegations of torture to 38 Governments and 175 urgent appeals to 59 Governments on behalf of persons who might be at risk of torture or other forms of ill-treatment. B. Country visits 5. In 2009, the Special Rapporteur undertook visits to Uruguay and Kazakhstan. In the period since the submission of his report to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur has received invitations from Papua New Guinea and Jamaica. He had been scheduled to conduct a visit to Zimbabwe from 28 October to 4 November 2009; however, the mission was postponed by the Government on 26 October 2009. Cuba had also issued an invitation to the Special Rapporteur for 2009, but the visit was postponed at a very late stage, meaning that the Special Rapporteur could not undertake any country visits during the second half of the year. Pending requests 6. In November 2009, the Special Rapporteur renewed requests for invitations from the following States: Algeria (request first made in 1997); Afghanistan (2005); Belarus (2005); Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (2005); Côte d’Ivoire (2005); Egypt (1996); Eritrea (2005); 1 GE.10-10042 Since the submission of his report to the seventh session of the Human Rights Council (see A/HRC/10/44 and addenda). 3