Human Rights and Anti-Trafficking In line with OSCE commitments and the OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings 35, ODIHR continued to assist participating States in establishing and implementing human rights-based approaches to combating trafficking in human beings. In 2012, ODIHR organized the OSCE Human Dimension Seminar on the “Rule of Law Framework for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings” (Warsaw, 14-16 May) 36. One of the four key issues examined during the Seminar was the establishment of an appropriate institutional framework for effective trafficking investigation, prosecution and adjudication. Specific recommendations relevant to the law enforcement institutions of the OSCE participating States were formulated as a result of discussion during the Seminar, including the need to investigate possible financial crimes connected to human trafficking; ensuring due diligence in the investigation and prosecution and ‘zero tolerance’ for corruption; and the establishment of functional National Referral Mechanisms (NRM) to ensure victim identification. ODIHR met with representatives of law enforcement agencies during the inception visits to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, carried out within the project “Human Rights Protection for Trafficked Persons and Vulnerable Groups in Central Asia” in July and October 2012, respectively. At these meetings, ODIHR underlined the importance of proper identification of victims of trafficking, co-operation with NGOs and other state agencies in this process, as well as the need for proactive investigation in trafficking cases. In December, ODIHR, in co-operation with the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, organized a training on “National Referral Mechanisms for Victims of Trafficking: Identification, Interviewing Techniques and Victim Protection” for representatives of law enforcement agencies and the judiciary in Turkmenistan. Roma and Sinti Issues As in previous years, the TNTD/SPMU, in co-operation with ODIHR’s Contact Point on Roma and Sinti Issues (CPRSI), continued its work to promote good relations between the police and Roma and Sinti communities. In co-operation with the Slovak Ministry of Interior a launch event was held for the Slovak translation of the OSCE manual Police and Roma and Sinti: Building Trust and Understanding 37 on 6 December. Following the launch a seminar took place with over 40 police officers, including two Roma police officers. At the request of the Bulgarian authorities, the manual has further been translated into the Bulgarian language in order to prepare its dissemination among the Bulgarian police in 2013. At the end of 2012, the manual was available in the following languages: Albanian, Bulgarian, English, Hungarian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian and Slovak. In November, the TNTD/SPMU, in co-operation with ODIHR’s CPRSI, visited Ukraine to discuss the issue of police and Roma with the Ukrainian authorities and to explore options to promote the OSCE manual in 2013. 35 36 37 OSCE, Permanent Council Decision No. 557, Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, 462nd Plenary Meeting, Vienna, 24 July 2003, at: http://www.osce.org/pc/42708 http://www.osce.org/event/hds_2012 OSCE, Police and Roma and Sinti: Good Practices in Building Trust and Understanding; SPMU Publication Series Vol. 9, Vienna, April 2010, at: http://polis.osce.org/library/details?doc_id=3682 151