A/HRC/22/17 communication on HIV-related discrimination in the Moldovan legal framework to the Government of the Republic of Moldova.7 This action supported OHCHR work encouraging the Government to revise laws related to HIV/AIDS, lift its restrictions on entry, stay or residence based on HIV status, strengthen prohibitions on HIV-related discrimination in the workplace and remove mandatory HIV testing for non-nationals and for couples before marriage. 24. OHCHR and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS jointly organized training for United Nations staff on integrating a rights-based approach into HIV programming. Legal reform support led to the lifting of HIV travel restrictions and mandatory testing of foreigners in some countries. Furthermore, OHCHR addressed human rights concerns at the International AIDS Conference; the High-level Policy Consultation on the Science and Law of Criminalization of HIV Non-disclosure, Exposure and Transmission; and the GlobalPOWER launch on accelerating action for women empowerment and gender equality on HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights. B. Impunity, rule of law and democratic society 1. Rule of law and democratic society 25. A key event in 2012 was the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Rule of Law at the National and International Levels. At the opening, I stressed that the rule of law is the backbone of legal protection of human rights, and called on the General Assembly to highlight the core human rights principles of legality, equality, accountability and participation in its work. In the historic declaration on the rule of law at national and international levels adopted on 24 September, 8 Heads of State and Government reaffirmed their commitment to these principles. I welcome the pledges that more than 32 States made following the High-level Meeting, many relating to human rights. OHCHR is committed to assisting States in meeting those pledges. 26. OHCHR has monitored the use and abolition of the death penalty. In July 2012, OHCHR convened a global panel in New York on “Moving away from the death penalty: lessons from national experiences”, and organized a workshop on the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol in Cambodia. The Special Rapporteur on torture and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions included a focus on the death penalty in their reports to the General Assembly.9 27. OHCHR supported the design, establishment and functioning of transitional justice processes in, inter alia, Burundi, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Guatemala, Guinea, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, and Uganda. In November 2012, OHCHR, together with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of nonrecurrence and the Regional Centre of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Cairo, co-organized a consultation on transitional justice in the Middle East and North Africa region. In May, in Mogadishu, OHCHR and the United Nations Political Office for Somalia signed with the authorities a memorandum of understanding on technical cooperation in the field of human rights to enhance support for Somali counterparts in the post-transition phase. In June, the Office, together with the InterMinisterial Delegation for Human Rights and the Association for the Prevention of Torture of Morocco, held a regional workshop in Rabat on the prevention of torture in the context 7 8 9 A/HRC/19/44. General Assembly resolution 67/1. A/67/279, A/67/275. 7