A/HRC/12/21 page 4 I. INTRODUCTION 1. This report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 6/14, in which the Council requested the Special Rapporteur to submit annual reports on the activities of the mandate to the Council. As stated in her initial report (A/HRC/9/20), the Special Rapporteur will focus on forced labour, paying particular attention to bonded labour. 2. In order to help her study global perspectives and gather information on national legislation and initiatives addressing the issue of bonded labour, the Special Rapporteur sent a questionnaire to permanent missions in Geneva. The questionnaire was answered by 30 countries.1 In addition, a questionnaire on bonded labour was sent to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that work with victims of forced and bonded labour. The Special Rapporteur received responses from four NGOs.2 II. ACTIVITIES OF THE MANDATE A. Meetings with Governments, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations 3. Throughout the year, the Special Rapporteur held consultations with Governments as well as United Nations agencies, NGOs and other stakeholders. These consultations assisted the Special Rapporteur to gather information; discuss thematic priority areas and possibilities for support and collaboration. B. Regional consultations 4. On 24 and 25 October 2008, the Special Rapporteur together with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants participated in a joint regional consultation on migrant domestic workers in the Asia-Pacific region in Manila. This consultation was organized by the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD),3 the Coordination of Action Research on AIDS and Mobility (CARAM)4 and the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW).5 These organizations are leading networks in the Asia-Pacific Region that advocate 1 Algeria, Azerbaijan, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Germany, Greece, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritius, Mauritania, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Oman, Peru, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uruguay and Venezuela. 2 Anti-Slavery International, Franciscans International, Pakistan Labour Federation and Terre des Hommes-India. 3 APWLD is based in Chiang Mai, Thailand. See www.apwld.org. 4 CARAM is based in Kuala Lumpur. See www.caramasia.org. 5 GAATW is based in Bangkok. See www.gaatw.org.