six months will be issued in case the victim stays for the investigation or proceedings and is willing to co-operate with the authorities. Prior to a residence permit States are obliged to offer a reflection period the length of which has to be determined by national laws. consider establishing a fund for compensating trafficked persons, which could be financed by confiscated assets (point III.1.5). The Council Framework Decision on the standing of victims in criminal proceedings42 is not applicable to victims of trafficking specifically but contains important rights for trafficked persons in criminal proceedings. It includes inter alia the right to receive information and it further requires that victims of criminal acts are entitled to receive a decision in reasonable time on the compensation by the perpetrator during the criminal proceedings. Article 3 of the Palermo Protocol defines trafficking in human beings as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of person, 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” 46. A central international non-binding instrument is the ‘UN Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking’43 elaborated by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. This instrument encourages States to put the human rights of trafficked persons in the centre of all efforts against trafficking in human beings. The instrument contains guidelines on inter alia protection of trafficked persons, law enforcement, prevention and international co-operation. States are called upon to “ensure that trafficked persons are protected from further exploitation and harm” and they should ensure that adequate care is not conditional upon the willingness to co-operate in legal proceedings (principle 8).44 States are encouraged to enable a safe return of trafficked persons to the State of origin and they should offer an alternative to the return in case the return would be a serious risk to the safety of the trafficked person (principle 11). The definition can be divided into three elements, which are: action, means and purpose. The first element covers actions such as recruitment, housing or transportation, which are usually the first steps taken by traffickers. The action element is very broad in order to be able to reach not just the recruiter, but also owners, supervisors or controllers of any place of exploitation such as a farm, factory, brothel or household.47 The OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings45 serves for the participating States as a supportive toolkit in order to implement efforts against trafficking in human beings. According to the Action Plan participating States should take into account root causes of trafficking in human beings when implementing preventive measures and should include inter alia issues such as discrimination at the work place (point IV.7.3). Participating States should on the residence permit issued to third-country nationals who are victims of trafficking in human beings or who have been the subject of an action to facilitate illegal immigration, who cooperate with the competent authorities Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA on the Standing of Victims in Criminal Proceedings 43 Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, 44 Decision No. 557/Rev. 1 OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings 18 2.2.2 Elements of the Definition of Trafficking in Human Beings Secondly, traffickers use specific means such as use of force to secure that action.48 Further means are coercion, abduction or the abuse of a position of vulnerability. The abuse of a position of vulnerability includes any situation in which the person involved has no real and acceptable alternative but to submit to the abuse involved.49 The third element of the definition is the purpose of exploitation. According to the Palermo Protocol, “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” 50. The Palermo Protocol gives an open-ended list of forms of exploitation but does not define the term ‘exploitation’ itself.51 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime The International Law of Human Trafficking Legislative Guide for the Implementation of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime