A/HRC/19/61 13. On 21 and 22 November 2011, the Special Rapporteur participated in a meeting in Buenos Aires hosted by the Human Rights Institute of the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) with Argentine federal and provincial authorities and non-governmental organizations regarding prevention of torture. He also met with the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Rights to enquire on the status of a bill to create a national preventive mechanism. In addition, the Special Rapporteur participated in a briefing for foreign correspondents about the state of prosecutions in Latin America for gross human rights violations, including torture. 14. On 29 and 30 November 2011, the Special Rapporteur was a panellist in the regional consultation for the Americas on enhancing cooperation between United Nations and regional human rights mechanisms on the prevention of torture and protection of victims, especially persons deprived of their liberty, held at the secretariat of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington, D.C. 15. On 15 and 16 December 2011, the Special Rapporteur was a panellist in the regional consultations for Europe on enhancing cooperation between United Nations and regional human rights mechanisms on the prevention of torture and protection of victims of torture, especially persons deprived of their liberty, held in Geneva. The Special Rapporteur also met with the Ambassador of Bahrain. E. Key press statements 16. On 22 August and 2 December 2011, a joint statement by all special procedures mandate holders was presented to the Human Rights Council at its seventeenth and eighteenth special sessions, on the situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic. The experts called for action, including an end to violence and repression, access to media facilities, an independent, thorough and prompt investigation into the alleged violations, the holding to account of perpetrators of gross human rights violations, and that victims and their families should obtain redress and appropriate compensation. 17. On 22 September 2011, the Special Rapporteur, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers condemned the public execution by hanging of a 17-year-old juvenile and the ongoing practice by the Iranian authorities of executing people charged with drug-related offences. The experts called for an immediate moratorium on the death penalty, particularly in drug-related and juvenile cases. 18. On 18 October 2011, the Special Rapporteur called for the prohibition of indefinite solitary confinement and prolonged solitary confinement, which he defined as for any period in excess of 15 days. The Special Rapporteur also called for an end to the practice of solitary confinement in pretrial detention based solely on the seriousness of the offence alleged, and a complete ban on its use for juveniles and persons with mental disabilities. III. Commissions of inquiry into torture and other forms of illtreatment A. Understanding the use and limits of commissions of inquiry, and how to strengthen them 19. In the international human rights context, commissions of inquiry are independent investigative commissions created in response to human rights violations including, but not 6