Human Rights Cindy Dyer, the Vice-President Vital Voices Global Partnership, Mariana Katzarova, the ODIHR Senior Adviser on Anti-Trafficking Issues, Ajla van Heel, the ODIHR Gender Officer, and Marieke van Doorninck, a City Councillor in Amsterdam, (l-r) moderate discussions at the OSCE event, “Political leadership: Who can speak for the victims of trafficking?”, Warsaw, 15 May 2012. (OSCE/Piotr Markowski) On the margins of the annual Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, ODIHR, jointly with the European Organisation of Military Associations, organized a side event highlighting the need to lift restrictions on the right to association of security personnel. In October, ODIHR co-hosted, with the OSCE Gender Section in Vienna, an event on “Enhancing the Role of Women in Conflict Mediation in the OSCE Region”. The event was attended by 110 participants and discussions focused on obstacles women face in entering mediation processes, entry points for women to participate in formal and informal peace processes and examples of women acting as mediators. Human Rights and Anti-Trafficking From 14 to 16 May ODIHR, jointly with the Irish Chairmanship of the OSCE, organized a Human Dimension Seminar on the Rule of Law Framework for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings. The Seminar was attended by more than 150 participants, including representatives of 42 OSCE participating States and 5 Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation. The event provided an opportunity to review the role of an effective rule of law framework in the fight against human trafficking. ODIHR continued its activities to promote access to justice and effective remedies for victims of trafficking. In particular, it facilitated the exchange of strategies and information among lawyers and legal practitioners involved in the provision of free legal advice and representation to trafficked persons. From 2 to 4 April, the Office organized a meeting on this topic in Warsaw, bringing together 45 participants from law firms, legal clinics, pro-bono clearinghouses, civil society and intergovernmental organizations. In July, ODIHR began implementation of a project focusing on human rights protection for trafficked persons and vulnerable groups in Central Asia. The threeyear project focuses on three main areas: the development of National Referral Mechanisms for the identification of and assistance to the victims of trafficking; enhancing access of victims to justice and effective remedies, including compensation; and distribution of small grants to local NGOs. Between July and December ODIHR carried out inception visits in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The visits were aimed at defining the focus and modalities of country-specific and regional activities, through consultations with governmental agencies, intergovernmental organizations and NGOs. ODIHR Annual Report 2012 51