Human Rights ciples in the fight against terrorism, rule of law, anti-trafficking, Roma and Sinti issues, democratic governance, legislative assistance, gender mainstreaming, and elections. Ninety-five staff members from 16 field operations participated in the four courses. In addition to this human dimension course, the ODIHR offers a variety of thematic training courses for OSCE staff. One area is human rights education. OSCE staff responsible for implementing projects in this field often lack detailed expertise with respect to ensuring the effectiveness of their efforts. In response, the ODIHR facilitated a workshop aimed at building the capacity of OSCE field operations to develop and implement human rights education projects. This was the first occasion for OSCE staff who work on implementing such projects, or who plan to work in this area, to discuss and share experiences and to address challenges and needs for developing such activities. The workshop brought together representatives of 16 field operations, the ODIHR, and one member of the Slovenian Chairmanship. IV. Trafficking in human beings: respecting victims’ rights The OSCE, in particular the ODIHR, has been at the forefront of the promotion of international human rights standards in addressing trafficking since the late 1990s. This has most recently been expressed by the adoption of the Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings (2003), which takes a comprehensive approach to tackling trafficking and gives equal importance to the prosecution of traffickers, the prevention of trafficking, and the protection of the rights of victims. The subsequent creation of a Special OSCE Representative on Trafficking has contributed to further highlighting the scope of the issues involved and the need for comprehensive action at the national and international level. Yet despite much progress, people continue to be trafficked, and there is little evidence to suggest that the scale of the problem is diminishing. Recognizing the role the ODIHR has devel- ANNUAL REPORT 2005 oped in the domain of victim protection and the promotion of rights, its new multi-year programme aims to draw attention to, and strengthen action on, a number of key concerns that continue to undermine victim protection. Issues to address The full realization of states’ commitment to the protection and promotion of the rights of trafficking victims is often complicated by governmental priorities concerned with immigration control and law enforcement. Substantial disparities persist in many cases between the numbers of presumed trafficking cases and actual prosecutions for trafficking. More efforts are needed to ensure that states recognize that protection of the rights of trafficking victims is central to combating trafficking. The establishment of National Referral Mechanisms is one means of making progress on this front. Trafficking victims still elude identification; instead, they are often deported as “illegal migrants” without access to protection, assistance, justice, or compensation in the countries in which they are exploited. Persons trafficked for forced labour, alongside other groups such Palermo Protocol “‘Trafficking in persons’ shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.” — The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially in Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 2000 59