Human Rights OSCE Participants at a freedom of assembly training programme in Yerevan in September 2008 taking part in a role-playing exercise. A number of participating States have been slow to respond in this area, thus contributing to the failure to safeguard trafficked persons’ rights to justice and protection. A publication on human rights defenders in the OSCE region kk Human rights, women and security: While participating States recognize that promoting gender equality is vital to a comprehensive approach to security, insufficient attention is paid to women’s rights and gender aspects in security-related areas like the development of conflict-prevention strategies and security-sector reform. The role and situation of women in matters of security has been acknowledged in an international legal framework, spearheaded by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325), which is applicable to all phases of a conflict. Activities ODIHR’s human rights activities in 2008 generally fell within the following areas: 38 Annual Report 2008 kk Support for human rights defenders and institutions; kk Human rights training and education; kk Human rights and anti-terrorism; kk Human rights and the armed forces; kk Anti-trafficking; kk Human rights, women and security; and kk Ad-hoc response to conflict I. Support for human rights defenders and institutions Human rights defenders and national human rights institutions (NHRIs) play a crucial role in promoting and protecting human rights. The ODIHR Focal Point on Human Rights Defenders and NHRIs seeks to advance the implementation of participating States’ human dimension commitments in support of human rights defenders, civil society and NHRIs. The Focal Point follows the situation of human rights defenders throughout the OSCE region. In December, ODIHR published the report Human Rights Defenders in the OSCE region: Challenges and Good Practices, which identified