Human Rights Sarah Crozier Janice Lam (left) of Anti-Slavery International, London, and Yun Gao of the International Labour Organization at an ODIHR workshop on compensation for victims of trafficking and exploitation, held in Barcelona in December. compliance with human rights commitments since there is often little detailed information available on the compatibility of state practice with OSCE commitments to protect victims, as reflected in the OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings. In doing so, it aims to raise awareness of the political commitments and recommendations of the Organization, to identify future activities for technical assistance, and to advise governments on future action. ODIHR also conducts research on topics where there is little available information, such as trafficking for labour exploitation in Kazakhstan or compensation of trafficking victims in the OSCE region. It participates in grass-roots activities that offer assistance to trafficked persons and vulnerable groups, often in partnership with OSCE field offices, other international organizations, and NGOs. Finally, it co-operates closely with the Office of the OSCE Special Representative on Combating Trafficking by writing joint letters to governments to bring attention to individual cases of trafficking, hosting OSCE anti-trafficking focal-point meetings, exchanging information, and contributing to the Representative’s conferences and background papers 48 Annual Report 2007 prepared for the Chairmanship on new antitrafficking commitments. In contributing to policy development in the OSCE, ODIHR drafted a discussion paper on labour trafficking in response to a request from the Spanish Chairmanship and interested participating States in August. The paper provided an overview of international standards and commitments on labour trafficking, taking into account new developments, and provided a basis for a focused discussion during an OSCE Permanent Council meeting on OSCE labourtrafficking commitments. Many of the recommendations from the paper were integrated into the subsequent Ministerial Council Decision on Labour Trafficking adopted in Madrid. ODIHR also participated as a key member of a drafting committee, alongside the UNODC and UNICEF, that was established to develop EU recommendations on the identification and protection of trafficked persons. The recommendations, which frequently refer to the guidance of the OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking to protect trafficked persons and the principles of National Referral Mechanisms (NRM), were presented by the European Commission on the