has also recommended states to promote awareness and training in regard to the Declaration, in order to enable public officials and authorities, including the judiciary, to observe the provisions of the Declaration and thus promote better understanding of and respect for human rights defenders and their work.421 OSCE participating States are encouraged to take similar steps with regard to the present Guidelines. They should disseminate the Guidelines widely, including to relevant professional groups and private actors, and use them to provide human rights education and training to relevant public officials, educators and others. They should co-operate with ODIHR in promoting awareness of the Guidelines, relevant training and educational activities, as well as support initiatives by independent NHRIs and civil society towards that end. Protection of human rights defenders in other OSCE participating States and third countries 276. In recognition of the fact that the protection of human rights defenders is not only a matter pertaining to states’ internal affairs, participating States should consider drawing up operational guidelines for relevant public officials on measures to support and protect human rights defenders in other OSCE participating States, as well as in third countries outside of the OSCE region. The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers has recommended that states “provide measures for swift assistance and protection to human rights defenders in danger in third countries, such as, where appropriate, attendance at and observation of trials and/or, if feasible, the issuing of emergency visas”.422 277. The European Union Guidelines for the protection of human rights defenders pro- vide some guidance for EU missions abroad (i.e., for diplomatic missions of EU member states and European Commission delegations) about measures to support human rights defenders in third countries, and recommend that EU missions should generally adopt a proactive policy towards human rights defenders.423 In 2009, PACE called on member states of the Council of Europe that are also EU 421  See A/RES/66/164, paras. 11 and 12. See also A/RES/68/181, 18 December 2013, para. 1. For related recommendations by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, see, for example, her report A/HRC/25/55 paras. 131 (c) and (g), which recommend wide dissemination of the declaration and that educational programmes, especially those addressed to law enforcement and public officials, include modules that recognize the role played by human rights defenders in society, and that the necessary training is provided to public officials on the role and rights of human rights defenders. To increase awareness among the judicial, legislative and administrative authorities, civil society and NGOs, as well as the general public, UN Treaty Bodies also routinely call on states to translate and disseminate the relevant human rights instruments and reports on states’ implementation thereof, as well as the Committees’ concluding observations and recommendations. See the standard recommendation that the UN Human Rights Committee includes in its Concluding Observations following the consideration of a state party report, for example, CCPR/C/DEU/CO/6, 12 November 2012, para. 19. 422  Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Declaration, para. 2(xi). 423  “Ensuring Protection - European Union Guidelines on Human Rights defenders”, <http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cmsUpload/GuidelinesDefenders.pdf>, para. 10. The Guidelines were adopted initially in 2004 and revised in 2008. Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders 129