A/70/310 I. Introduction and summary of recent activities 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 17/12. It briefly outlines the activities of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants between 1 August 2014 and 31 July 2015. The thematic section of the report is dedicated to recruitment practices among migrant workers. A. Participation in consultations and conferences 2. In November 2014, the Special Rapporteur organized an international consultation on recruitment practices and migrant workers. This consultation convened experts from civil society organizations, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Organization on Migration (IOM), Governments, including chairs of the Colombo and Puebla regional consultative dialogues, as well as from academic and legal institutions. A full list of participants is available in the annex found on the Special Rapporteur’s website. The Special Rapporteur expresses his gratitude for those who attended. The output from this consultation, alongside the findings of the country visits of the Special Rapporteur, his related thematic work, and research undertaken using a number of analytical reports. 3. The Special Rapporteur contributed to a number of international and regional dialogues and conferences, including the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency’s annual conference themed on migrants’ rights, the Global Forum on Migration and Development and the UNHCR dialogue on protection at sea of the Office of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner for Refugees. B. Country visits 4. The Special Rapporteur conducted a visit to Italy from 2 to 6 December 2014. He found that, despite a challenging economic and political climate, Italy has taken bold initiatives to address the unprecedented number of migrants and asylum seekers arriving by boat. 5. The Special Rapporteur subsequently visited Malta from 6 to 10 December 2014. Following this visit, he described how Malta must expect continued growth in the unprecedented number of migrants and asylum seekers arriving by boat and develop programmes to cope. C. European Union follow-up 6. These visits were complemented by a visit to the European Union in Brussels, as part of a follow-up to the Special Rapporteur’s 2012 year-long study on the management of the external borders of the European Union. The Special Rapporteur reported the key findings in his follow-up report on European Union border management (A/HRC/29/36) to the Human Rights Council in June. 15-13569 3/26