A/HRC/19/61 C. Pending requests 6. The Special Rapporteur has reiterated his interest in conducting a country visit to a number of States where there are pending requests for invitations, including Cyprus (2010), El Salvador (2010), Eritrea (2005), Ethiopia (2005), Ghana (2010), Guyana (2010), India (1993), Iran (Islamic Republic of) (2005), Kenya (2010), Pakistan (2010), the Russian Federation (2000), Saudi Arabia (2005), the Syrian Arab Republic (2005), Uzbekistan (2006) and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (2010). The Special Rapporteur has also reiterated requests to Cuba and Zimbabwe, the Governments of which had extended an invitation to the mandate to visit their respective countries; to date, however, there has been no further engagement by either of these States regarding the possibility of a visit. In 2011, the Special Rapporteur requested a country visit to Belarus, Guatemala and Morocco (including Western Sahara) and the United States of America. D. Highlights of key presentations and consultations 7. On 27 September 2011, the Special Rapporteur participated in a high-level panel of experts on the theme “Deconstructing the death penalty”, which examined the implications and the implementation of the death penalty in the United States of America, at Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C. 8. From 18 to 20 October 2011, the Special Rapporteur presented his interim report (A/66/268) to the General Assembly at Headquarters, where he also participated in two side events: one organized by the Permanent Mission of Denmark and the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims on “Rehabilitation of torture survivors”, and the other organized jointly by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union on “The dangerous overuse of solitary confinement”. He also met with representatives of the permanent missions of Denmark and of Iraq. The Special Rapporteur met with representatives of non-governmental organizations advocating the end to torture in the health-care context. 9. On 21 October 2011, the Special Rapporteur and the other mandate holders involved in the secret detention study (A/HRC/13/42), including the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance, addressed follow-up letters to 59 States requesting their respective Governments to provide an update on the implementation of the recommendations contained in the study. 10. From 29 October to 2 November 2011, the Special Rapporteur participated in the annual meeting of the International Bar Association, in Dubai. He spoke on recent developments in North Africa and the Middle East and the related impact on human rights. 11. On 10 and 11 November 2011, the Special Rapporteur delivered in Geneva the key note speech at the Global Forum on the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment hosted by the Association for the Prevention of Torture, on the theme “Preventing torture, upholding dignity: from pledges to action”. He also delivered a speech on “Achieving a more inclusive strategy on torture prevention”. The Special Rapporteur also met with representative of the Permanent Mission of Kyrgyzstan in preparation for the country visit. 12. On 14 November 2011, the Special Rapporteur participated in a series of thematic and geographic meetings organized by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in London. 5