A/HRC/10/16 page 24 81. On 21 and 22 November 2008, the Special Rapporteur participated in a regional consultation in Africa organized in Nairobi by the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women (GAATW) with the theme “Building and Expanding Connections Towards Promoting the Human Rights of Trafficked and Migrant Persons in Africa”. 82. From 25 to 28 November 2008, the Special Rapporteur participated in the Third World Congress against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Rio de Janeiro, a gathering of more than 3,000 people from five continents, 300 of whom were adolescents. She moderated a high-level panel of experts on the topic “Forms of commercial sexual exploitation and its new scenarios” and participated in several workshops, including the Workshop on the Implementation of the Human Rights-based Approach to Combating Trafficking of Children. 83. From 7 to 11 December 2008, the Special Rapporteur was in New York to hold consultations. On 9 and 10 December, she participated in an expert briefing, and a Roundtable on Human Trafficking, Sexual Rights, Sex Work and Health organized by Open Society Initiative (OSI) Public Health Program, American University Washington College of Law Program on Human Trafficking and Forced Labour, where she met stakeholders from India, Cambodia, Germany, Brazil, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Thailand, Brazil and the United States. On 8 December, she had consultative meetings with the Human Rights Watch team working on trafficking issues, as well as with the New York Anti-Trafficking Network Steering Committee. She met a number of stakeholders on the issue of the conflation of sex work and trafficking, in particular as it relates to the recently increased global attention to combating trafficking in the sex industry. The Special Rapporteur also met with other international organizations working on trafficking issues, including Equality Now, based in New York, and the Polaris Project, based in Washington D.C. 84. On 10 December 2008, the Special Rapporteur participated in a joint press release with other special procedures mandate holders on the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 85. On 3 and 4 February 2009, the Special Rapporteur participated at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference “International Migration and Human Trafficking: Maximizing Benefits, Overcoming Challenges” at the Houses of Parliament in London and gave a keynote speech. 86. In March 2009, the Special Rapporteur intends to participate in the conference “Trafficking at the Crossroads” in Bahrain which will discuss private-public partnership to fight human trafficking, and in the Commonwealth Parliamentarians Conference on international migration and human trafficking in London. 87. During her consultations in October 2008, the Special Rapporteur enquired about the possibility of country visits. She has received an invitation to visit Poland and Belarus in 2009 and is consulting with Japan to determine possible dates for a country visit.