Sinti communities. Another established task was to assist the participating States in developing codes of conduct to prevent racial profiling and improve inter-ethnic relations. The OSCE Strategy to Address Threats to Security and Stability in the Twenty-First Century, adopted by the 11th Ministerial Council in Maastricht in 2003 stated that the Strategic Police Matters Unit was set up to improve the capacity of participating States to address threats posed by criminal activity and to assist them in upholding the rule of law. The aim was to enhance key policing skills, including respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The 2004 OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality, adopted by the 12th Ministerial Council of the OSCE (Sofia 2004), urged the participating States, the Secretariat, institutions and field operations to ensure that a gender perspective is integrated into OSCE activities, programmes and projects. The aim shall be to promote the practice of gender equality in the OSCE area, which is essential to comprehensive security. In this context, the SPMU was specifically tasked to enhance its project development to assist participating States in reacting to sexual violence offences and in including elements such as special investigation techniques, and interview skills designated for use with victims of sexual assault including children, and information on referral mechanisms for victim assistance, in the police training curriculum. The fight against organized crime came to the forefront of OSCE priorities during 2005 and was recognized in a Decision on Combating Transnational Organized Crime adopted by the 13th Ministerial Council of the OSCE (Ljubljana 2005). It tasked the OSCE Secretary General with providing the requesting participating States with support for the mobilization of technical assistance, including the necessary expertise and resources, from relevant competent international organizations for the implementation of the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNODC) and its Protocols. The Decision also tasked the OSCE Permanent Council to work on designing, with the support of the Secretary General and the relevant OSCE institutions, possible measures and forms of assistance that could be available to requesting participating States with a view to improving and promoting the functioning of criminal justice systems. Ljubljana Ministerial Decision No. 15/05 on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women urged participating States, with support and assistance of the OSCE, to take all necessary legislative, policy and programmatic monitoring and evaluation measures to promote and protect full enjoyment of the human rights of women, and to prevent and combat all forms of gender-based violence against them. The decision also tasked the Permanent Council to encourage the development by relevant OSCE institutions and structures of programmes, projects and policies to assist participating States, at their request, in combating violence against women and girls and providing assistance to victims. The Ljubljana Ministerial Council also adopted the OSCE Border Security and Management Concept, which first and foremost provides participating States with a political framework for their co-operation on border-related issues. It provides objectives and principles for this co-operation and finally defines modalities for OSCE activities in this area. The OSCE “acts upon the request of participating States” to ensure dialogue on border-related issues through, inter alia, “exchange of information, experience and best practices”, the establishment of a National Focal Points Network, holding of workshops and conferences. Permanent Council Decision No. 758 Enhancing International Anti-Drug Co-operation (2006) tasked the Secretary General and relevant OSCE institutions with providing participating States, upon their request and in close consultation and co-ordination with UNODC, with assistance/advice on anti-drug issues, inter alia, through awareness-raising activities, the organization of regional workshops and facilitation of training. The Decision on Combating Sexual Exploitation of Children adopted by the 14th Ministerial Council of the OSCE (Brussels 2006) encouraged relevant OSCE executive structures, within their existing mandates, to devote attention to the area of sexual exploitation of children, including links to trafficking in persons, and emphasized the need for them and the participating States to co-operate with other international organizations, NGOs and civil society in combating the sexual exploitation of children. The 14th Ministerial Council of the OSCE (Brussels 2006) adopted the follow-up Decision on Organized Crime, reaffirming the importance that the OSCE was giving to this subject. The Decision’s tasking to the OSCE Secretary General and the relevant OSCE executive structures, within their respective mandates, included giving enhanced attention to the key role of criminal justice systems in institution-building and in the promotion of the rule of law, as well as co-operating and co-ordinating more closely in order to take better into account the interaction between the components of those systems. A further major task was to build on and consolidate the knowledge and experience on criminal justice and organized crime, and to continue co-operating with UNODC in matters including combating organized crime and illicit drugs. 141