A/HRC/27/54 14. Moreover, subsequent to resolution 18/11, the Council expanded the mandate further in resolution 21/17. Resolution 21/17 made provision for the Special Rapporteur to respond to the situation of human rights defenders who are subject to human rights abuses and violations owing to their activities relating to the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes. B. Prior and ongoing work under the mandate 15. Since 1995, the Special Rapporteur’s predecessors have investigated and reported on the adverse effects of the illicit movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights. These investigations have examined specific issues from a human rights standpoint, for example the troubling methods by which ships may be dismantled (shipbreaking) (A/HRC/12/26) and electronic waste (e-waste) may be disposed of (see E/CN.4/2004/46), while also surveying the human rights affected, to varying degrees, by a broader range of toxic and dangerous products and wastes. Country missions have been undertaken to a diverse group of countries, approximately twenty to date, with reports being made to the Human Rights Council (or the Commission on Human Rights) of relevant findings. 16. Rather than restating the substantial work undertaken in years past, which focused on downstream, disposal-related issues, the Special Rapporteur intends to focus his work particularly on the new dimensions added to the mandate since 2011, when it was strengthened to embrace a life-cycle approach to the environmentally sound management of hazardous substances and wastes. 17. In 2012, the first report under the new mandate as extended and amended in resolution 18/11 drew the Council’s attention to extractive industries from the perspective of human rights, with a focus on toxic chemicals. More precisely, the report surveyed the human rights impacts from the unsound management of hazardous substances and wastes used in and generated by extractive industries. The report explored various techniques and emerging issues in extractive industries, and outlined the international normative framework for the sound management of hazardous chemicals and wastes as it relates to the extraction of raw materials. The report concluded with recommendations (A/HRC/21/48). 18. Marc Pallemaerts, appointed Special Rapporteur by the Human Rights Council at its twenty-first session, presented to the Council at its twenty-fourth session a progress report which analysed the present international framework in the field of the mandate, from various legal perspectives. That report provides a useful overview of life-cycle stages and regulatory gaps in international law, and helps to establish a basis for identifying areas for future focus (A/HRC/24/39). The late Mr. Pallemaerts was unable to complete the tasks outlined under various elements of the mandate. III. Planning the programme of activities relating to the mandate 19. In this section, the Special Rapporteur outlines his preliminary plan for discharging the mandate given by the Council. This plan is tentative; it is subject to revision once he has had the opportunity to conduct broad consultations with relevant stakeholders, as well as in response to unforeseen events, and is also contingent upon the dialogue held in the Council on current and future reports and resolutions. It builds upon the plan outlined by the previous Special Rapporteur, and takes into account the extraordinary and unforeseen circumstances that prevented many of the elements of the previous Special Rapporteur’s plan from being addressed over the past year. 4