Limitations on the right to remain in the destination country for victims of trafficking represent a major practical obstacle to accessing remedies.345 In some countries, victims of trafficking have access to a visa regime that enables them to stay for the duration of a civil claim. In other countries, victims are informed of their right to compensation and have access to free legal aid, but no specific provisions are in place to ensure that compensation claims are finalized prior to return and that the period of time required for claiming compensation is longer than the period of temporary residence provided to trafficked persons. In particular, cases have been recorded in the OSCE region where victims had initiated claims for compensation but were returned prior to the finalization of the claim. In such cases, the removal of claimants has made it difficult for lawyers to communicate with their clients and to obtain the necessary evidence of physical and/or psychological damage. In cases where the victim is returned before a claim for compensation can be made, lawyers may not be able to represent the victim due to legal obligations that they physically see the client and confirm her or his identity.346 Such problems are particularly likely to arise in cases where the victim decides to make a claim for compensation but where a parallel criminal case has not been processed or concluded.347 In such situations, the civil case is likely to be complex and lengthy, and the victim may be without legal entitlement to remain for the duration of that proceeding. The right to effective remedies is a fundamental right recognized in the ICCPR, the ECHR and OSCE commitments.348 As such, the UNTOC and the UN Trafficking Protocol require states to establish procedures to provide access to compensation for trafficked persons. The UN Trafficking Protocol obliges States Parties to ensure that their domestic legal systems contain measures that offer victims the possibility of obtaining compensation for damage suffered.349 The Council of Europe Trafficking Convention requires that victims be provided with appropriate information, including procedures they can use to obtain compensation and access to legal assistance.350 The convention also reaffirms that victims have a right to monetary compensation from convicted 345 OSCE/ODIHR, Compensation for Trafficked and Exploited Persons in the OSCE Region (Warsaw: ODIHR: 2008), p. 36. 346 OSCE/ODIHR, Compensation for Trafficked and Exploited Persons in the OSCE Region (Warsaw: ODIHR, 2008), p. 113. 347  Ibid., p. 26. 348  ICCPR, art. 2; ECHR, art. 13; EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, art. 47; 1989 Vienna Document, art. 13.9; 1990 Copenhagen Document, p. 11; 1991 Moscow Document; CSCE, Charter of Paris For A New Europe, Paris, 1990, p. 4; OSCE Ministerial Council, Decision No. 12/05, “Upholding Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Criminal Justice Systems”, Ljubljana, 6 December 2005, <http://www.osce.org/mc/17347?download=true>; and OSCE Ministerial Council, Decision No. 7/08, “Further Strengthening the Rule of Law in the OSCE Area”, Helsinki, 5 December 2008, <http://www.osce.org/mc/35494?download=true>. 349  UN Trafficking Protocol, art. 6(6). In addition, the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons has noted that victims of human rights violations must be provided with adequate reparations for the harms suffered, including guarantees of non-repetition, and that victims should be entitled to remain in the country where the remedy is sought for the duration of any criminal, civil or administrative proceedings (Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, 13 April 2011, A/ HRC/17/35, para. 51). 350  Council of Europe Trafficking Convention, art. 15. Part 2: Explanatory Report to the Principles 87