A/HRC/13/22 trafficking offences. In exceptional cases, the Ministry of Justice, Security and Human Rights can include other cases, for example, those related to organized crime. Up to 4,360 people in the country have reportedly benefited from this programme. The programme offers the possibility of relocation, change of identity and protection, inter alia. 73. Such initiatives are commendable. However, the Special Rapporteur wishes to stress that witness protection programmes are not sufficient to provide for the safety of defenders, since in most cases they have not been designed for that purpose. Such programmes should not be used as substitutes for defender protection programmes. 74. Moreover, according to the information received by the Special Rapporteur, many witness protection programmes do not take the specific needs of the human rights defenders at risk into account. These needs are diverse and may differ according to the situation of the defenders concerned. For example, it might be useful to differentiate defenders in need of short-term physical protection from those requiring long-term protection measures. Assessing the types of needs will have an impact on the protection measures to be taken, e.g., the type of protection programme or whether relocation to another country is needed. 75. The Special Rapporteur understands that, given the range of situations, designing flexible and sustainable protection programmes is a challenging task. However, she would like to recall States’ obligation to protect defenders. To that end, cooperation and consultation with human rights defenders is crucial to the development of better protection strategies. (b) State protection programmes 76. States have developed various specific programmes to ensure the protection of defenders at risk. Many good practices, some of which are analysed below, have to be commended. Nonetheless, the examples mentioned in this report could be improved. The Special Rapporteur strongly urges States which have not put such mechanisms into place to develop their own. 77. In Guatemala, several initiatives have been set up to ensure the protection of human rights defenders. A coordination department for the protection of human rights defenders, administrators, judicial officers, journalists and social communicators has been created. A human rights unit was also established within the police and includes specialized investigative units for crimes against justice officials, human rights activists, unionists and journalists. Another encouraging development was the creation of a unit to analyse attacks against human rights defenders. A national policy for the prevention and protection of human rights defenders and other vulnerable groups was drafted in 2007 by the Presidential Human Rights Commission, but has yet to be approved. 78. Although these are commendable initiatives, the Special Rapporteur regrets that the replies received from the Government of Guatemala to the questionnaire do not clarify the status and effective functioning of these various mechanisms and strategies. Given the high number of communications received in relation to the security of Guatemalan defenders, she urges the State to adopt the pending Government agreement and provide the various agencies mentioned with appropriate resources. 79. In Brazil, the National Programme for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, developed by the National Special Secretariat for Human Rights (which has a ministerial status), was officially launched on 26 October 2004. The Brazilian states are in charge of its execution, under the coordination of a national steering committee at the federal level. Protection measures include police protection and a database to register defenders at risk. 80. Nonetheless, according to the information received, police and security forces are not being properly trained and many defenders, not confident that they would be properly 14 GE.10-10012