member states, to make full use of the EU Guidelines and to implement the principles contained therein within their own borders.424 278. A study commissioned by the European Parliament to assess the implementation of the EU Guidelines found many good practices in place, but also identified gaps in the implementation of the Guidelines, due in part to limited knowledge of the content of the Guidelines both among diplomats as well as among human rights defenders, and a lack of understanding of how to engage in human rights issues as per the EU Guidelines.425 OSCE participating States that are also EU member states should, therefore, ensure the wide dissemination of the EU Guidelines among their diplomatic missions and other relevant government officials, and see to it that members of diplomatic missions and other officials receive adequate training on the implementation of the Guidelines, and that they accord high priority to carrying out the measures envisaged therein. Other participating States should take similar steps on the basis of their own national or supplementary guidelines.426 279. Examples of good practice in this regard are the guidelines on the protection of human rights defenders issued by the Norwegian 427 and Swiss428 governments to their foreign services and representations abroad. These guidelines foresee a number of possible practical measures to support human rights defenders through their diplomatic missions in the country concerned, including, for example: maintaining direct contact with human rights defenders in order to exchange information and legitimize their work; observing court cases and visiting prisons and persons under house arrest; raising concerns about the situation of human rights defenders with the competent authorities of the host country (including through formal and informal channels, demarches and interventions); increasing the visibility of human rights work through the use of the media, press releases, interviews and public statements and drawing attention to individual cases of human rights defenders; and co-operating with international actors, other diplomatic rep424  PACE Resolution 1660 (2009), para. 12.3. 425  See Karen Bennett, “Assessing the implementation of the European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders – The cases of Kyrgyzstan, Thailand and Tunisia”, European Parliament, Directorate-General for external Policies of the Union, June 2013, <http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/etudes/ join/2013/410221/EXPO-DROI_ET(2013)410221_EN.pdf>. Based on the cases studies from three different geographical areas, the report made a number of recommendations towards strengthening the implementation of the Guidelines. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders has also recommended developing simple structural and outcome indicators to foster the implementation and evaluation of the European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders. See the report of her visit to Ireland, UN Doc. A/HRC/22/47/ Add.3, 26 February 2013 para. 111(g). 426  The Swiss Guidelines recognize, for example, the importance of specific training courses for those embassy staff who work in particularly close contact with human rights defenders. “These specifically trained staff will then be able to act as focal points and multipliers, and pass on their knowledge to their colleagues.” (p. 17) 427  “Norway’s efforts to support human rights defenders, Guide for the foreign service”, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, December 2010, <http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/ud/documents/handbooks_brochures/2010/hr_defenders_guide.html?id=633052>. 428  “Swiss Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders”, Federal Departmental of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), December 2013, < http://www.admin.ch/aktuell/00089/index.html?lang=en&msg-id=51322>. 130 Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders