A/HRC/4/23 page 17 slavery, and servitude of mainly women and girls. A complete legal prohibition on the demand for forced marriages would function as a deterrent to those who acquire and use the most vulnerable and powerless women and girls for forced marriage. 50. The Palermo Protocol addresses demand in its article 9 (5), which provides that States parties “shall adopt or strengthen legislative or other measures, such as educational, social or cultural measures, including through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children, that leads to trafficking”. 51. Moreover, the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action encourages States to “[t]ake appropriate measures to address the root factors, including external factors, that encourage trafficking in women and girls for prostitution and other forms of commercialized sex, forced marriages and forced labour in order to eliminate trafficking in women, including by strengthening existing legislation with a view to providing better protection of the rights of women and girls and to punishing the perpetrators, through both criminal and civil measures” (para. 131 (b)). Also, in resolution 49/2 of 11 March 2005, entitled “Eliminating demand for trafficked women and girls for all forms of exploitation”, the Commission on the Status of Women stated that it was “[c]onvinced that eliminating the demand for trafficked women and girls for all forms of exploitation, including for sexual exploitation, is a key element to combating trafficking”. 52. Since the entering into force of the Palermo Protocol, several newly negotiated regional agreements and action plans have included articles focusing on measures to discourage the demand for the exploitation that promotes human trafficking, especially of women and children. For example, under article 6 of the 2005 Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, States parties are obliged to adopt or strengthen legislative, administrative, educational, social, cultural or other measures, including research on best practices, methods and strategies; raising awareness of the responsibility and important role of media and civil society in identifying the demand; information campaigns involving, as appropriate, inter alia, public authorities and policymakers; and preventive measures, including educational programmes for boys and girls that stress the unacceptable nature of discrimination based on sex and its disastrous consequences, the importance of gender equality and the dignity and integrity of every human being. 53. In addition, the European Union draft action plan to fight trafficking in human beings states that all European Union institutions and member States “should promote gender-specific prevention strategies as a key element to combat trafficking in women and girls. This includes implementing gender equality principles and eliminating the demand for all forms of exploitation, including sexual exploitation and domestic labour exploitation”.19 19 See e.g. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, fighting trafficking in human beings - an integrated approach and proposals for an action plan, 18 October 2005, document COM (2005) 514 final.