3.3 The Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings Background Trafficking in human beings (THB) has reached the level of a massive scale crime and has become a serious transnational threat throughout the OSCE region, as well as a grave human rights violation. Estimates by the ILO in 2012 provide an indication of the size of the criminal industry of trafficking: at any moment 20.9 million people are victims of forced labour globally, although the organization stresses that this is a conservative estimate. 12 THB has also been recognized as a form of organized crime integrally linked with various other forms, such as drug trafficking, corruption, money laundering, forging of documents, fraud, smuggling of migrants, and terrorist activities, apart from being a gross violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Human trafficking endangers national security and economies of the participating States permeating into the legal economic sectors, and furthermore, transforming labour exploitation resulting from THB into a structural component of the global economy. The vast majority of cases of THB (as well as victims) go undetected, and when they are detected, they are too often not properly identified. Therefore police-related activities should be enhanced to ensure an end to impunity for the offenders, and that all victims are identified and provided with adequate assistance and protection without any discrimination. In 2012, seven professional staff members of the Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (OSR/CTHB) were fully engaged in addressing trafficking in human beings (THB) as an integral part of organized crime, and its dimension of a serious transnational threat. The OSR/CTHB works in close co-operation with the TNT Department, including regular exchange of information, joint meetings and joint initiatives, and has established a Focal Point to facilitate this co-operation. In 2012, the SR/CTHB took advantage of official country visits to discuss these issues, among others, with high-level officials in Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ireland, and Portugal, especially with agencies responsible for front-line actions against modern-day slavery, and to stress that all related policy areas such as migration and labour policies should be consistent with anti-trafficking action. The SR also followed up with Canada, Moldova and the UK with regard to her 2011 country visits and reports. Working with the Judiciary The fight against human trafficking requires close co-operation and a common stand shared by the police, judges and prosecutors to have any THB-related case identified, investigated and prosecuted. This is why, in order to strengthen the criminal justice system response as mandated in the OSCE Action Plan 13, the OSR/CTHB also continued to work extensively with the judiciary in participating States to further improve access to justice for victims of trafficking as well as to provide capacity building on the legal complexities which often characterize human trafficking cases at trial. 12 13 42 ILO, Global Estimate of Forced Labour (Geneva, 2012). OSCE, Permanent Council Decision No. 557/Rev. 1, OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, Vienna, 7 July 2005.