Recalling the Ministerial Council Decisions Nos. 3/05 (Ljubljana) on combating transnational organized crime, and 5/06 (Brussels) on organized crime, Permanent Council Decision No. 810 (2007) on Implementation of the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime tasked the Secretary General to support the implementation of the UNTOC convention in co-operation with UNODC, and to organize a workshop in co-operation and co-ordination with the Secretariat of the Conference of the Parties to the UNTOC. Permanent Council Decision No. 813 (2007) on Combating the Threat of Illicit Drugs and Precursors emphasized the continuing spread of illicit trafficking of opiates from Afghanistan and chemical precursors throughout the OSCE area. The Permanent Council called on the Secretary General to further develop co-operation in the field of anti-drug matters with UNODC, the Paris Pact and other relevant international structures and organizations by, inter alia, organizing joint regional and sub-regional workshops and other activities. Furthermore, the Secretary General was tasked with continuing training activities on drugrelated matters. The need for continuing training of Afghan police officers in addition to providing assistance to Afghanistan in the fields of border security and combating drug trafficking was also a core topic of the Ministerial Decision No. 4/07 on OSCE Engagement with Afghanistan (Madrid). Participating States tasked the Secretary General to provide support for intensifying the involvement of Afghan counterparts in OSCE activities related to the fields of border security and management, policing and the fight against drug trafficking, and those in the training facilities in Central Asia and in the rest of the OSCE area. While tasked to avoid unnecessary duplication of existing efforts of other international actors, the Secretary General was also mandated to explore all possible co-operation options, in co-ordination with the United Nations and other relevant regional and international organizations and other actors. At the Helsinki Ministerial Council in December 2008, the participating States turned their attention once again to the issue of Trafficking in Human Beings. Decision No. 5/08 on Enhancing Criminal Justice Responses to Trafficking in Human Beings Through a Comprehensive Approach emphasized the need for training on combating trafficking in human beings for law enforcement personnel and urged the participating States inter alia to ensure co-operation between law enforcement agencies and other relevant actors at the national and international level, and “to intensify measures to disrupt trafficking networks, including by means of financial investigations, investigations of money laundering connected 142 to human trafficking and the freezing and confiscation of the assets of human traffickers”. Reaffirming the participating States’ commitment to proactively implement the OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality and recalling Ljubljana Ministerial Council Decisions on Women in Conflict Prevention, Crisis Management and Post-Conflict Rehabilitation, and on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women, the 17th Ministerial Council of the OSCE (Athens 2009), in its Decision on Women’s Participation in Political and Public Life, called on the participating States to consider providing for specific measure to achieve the goal of gender balance in all legislative, judicial and executive bodies, including police services. Acknowledging the “[…] diverse and multifaceted OSCE work, experience and lessons learned in the policing field, in particular the work of the SPMU and the field operations within their respective mandates”, the Permanent Council, in its Decision 914/09, adopted in Athens, expressed its conviction that the time had come to take stock of what had been done so far in policing and to “[…] initiate a thorough dialogue on how to further enhance police-related activities within the OSCE.” The Permanent Council tasked the Secretary General, “[…] within existing resources and in consultation with relevant OSCE executive structures, to prepare a report on police-related activities of the OSCE executive structures up to the end of 2009”. The report was to be based partly on the annual reports on policerelated activities, reflecting existing mandates and OSCE commitments, and was “[…] to include an assessment of those activities and a forward looking perspective, offering longterm strategic recommendations”. Moreover, the Permanent Council decided that this report would be further discussed during the next Annual Police Experts Meeting in May 2010 as well as at the 2010 Annual Security Review Conference. The Athens Ministerial Council Decision No.  2/09 on Further OSCE Efforts to Address Transnational Threats and Challenges to Security and Stability took note of, inter alia, the OSCE’s contribution to international efforts to fight organized crime through the provision of relevant law enforcement expertise and assistance to participating States and called for exploring further ways to strengthen synergies in OSCE activities against transnational threats, addressing them in a comprehensive and cross-dimensional manner and focusing on areas, where the OSCE has a comparative advantage and can complement the work of other international organizations. “Recalling that the OSCE, as a regional arrangement under Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations and as a