“Exploring the Links between the Internet and Trafficking in Human Beings: Cyberspace for Prevention, not Recruitment”, organized by the Lithuanian EU Presidency and the European Commission on the occasion of the “7th EU Anti-Trafficking Day” in Vilnius. The conference was attended by EU Member States’ experts working in areas linking trafficking in human beings with the Internet, in particular law enforcement and prosecution, civil society, international organizations, academia and other stakeholders. As a follow-up, the TNTD/SPMU and the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan planned to organize a training seminar on the use of the Internet and other modern technologies to commit crimes, such as human trafficking, for Uzbek law enforcement representatives in Tashkent in December 2013. On 28-31 October, upon invitation of INTERPOL, the TNTD/SPMU, for the first time, participated in the “Annual Meeting” of the INTERPOL Specialists Group on Crimes against Children (ISGCAC), held at the INTERPOL General Secretariat’s Headquarters in Lyon, France. Law enforcement agencies as well as customs and immigration services from INTERPOL member countries took part in the meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to exchange information on latest research, best practices, lessons learned, case studies as well as practical experience, and to continue developing co-operation between member countries by identifying common areas of concern in the fight against child exploitation. On 10-12 December, the TNTD/SPMU, jointly with the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, organized a seminar on “Trafficking in Human Beings – A Crime Facilitated by the Use of Internet and New Digital Technologies” in Tashkent. The TNTD/SPMU highlighted the opportunities that new technologies provide to the sex industry and individual users in finding, marketing and delivering services. Lectures were also given by experts from EUROPOL, INTERPOL and the United Kingdom. Participants discussed the specific characteristics of these new opportunities in the context of transnational crimes also including the laundering of criminal earnings. Trafficking in Human Beings On 29-31 January, the TNTD/SPMU, in close co-operation with OSR/CTHB, organized an expert seminar in Vienna to review the draft OSCE Police Training Resource Guide on Combating Human Trafficking (see guidebook section above). On 16-17 April, the TNTD/SPMU, in co-operation with the Anti-Trafficking Section of the Governance in the Economic and Environmental Issues Department of the OSCE Presence in Albania, organized a seminar on “Seizure of Criminal Assets Arising from Trafficking in Persons” in Tirana. The seminar was a follow-up to a similar seminar the TNTD/SPMU had organized in July 2012, in which the Director of the Anti-Trafficking Department within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Albania had participated. Upon the TNTD/SPMU’s recommendations, the Ministry requested the OSCE Presence in Albania to replicate this seminar and focus on local police, prosecutors and judges and to include members of the Financial Intelligence Unit. On 21-22 May, the TNTD/SPMU participated in an international roundtable on “Building National Referral Mechanisms: Gaps, Analysis and Good Practices”, organized by ODIHR in Istanbul, Turkey. The roundtable gathered representatives of government institutions and NGOs as well as international experts to share experiences and identify possible gaps in the development of National Referral Mechanisms (NRMs) for victims of trafficking. NRMs are co-operative frameworks through which states fulfil their obligations to protect and promote human rights of trafficked persons, co-ordinating their efforts in a strategic partnership with civil society. The two-day event was part of a three-year project called ‘Protection for Trafficked Persons and Vulnerable Groups in Central Asia’, launched in July 2012. The roundtable covered legislative aspects, as well as the role that social institutions, lawenforcement agencies and NGOs play in NRMs. The TNTD/SPMU addressed the role of 30