A/HRC/14/32 15. Numerous cooperation mechanisms already exist at the international level, with international organizations such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), carrying out research, awarenessraising activities and training, developing legal instruments and guidelines and funding field projects. However, efforts at that level are not sufficient. They need to be complemented and adapted to a regional perspective, which provides a better setting for closer cooperation, facilitated by a stronger feeling of ownership and greater adaptability to local approaches and realities on the ground. 16. In this context, a number of regional organizations have embarked on regional cooperation activities in this area, with very different modalities. In some cases, organizations created with broad cooperation objectives decided to include the fight against trafficking in their activities. In other cases, new regional cooperation mechanisms have been created solely for the purpose of combating trafficking in persons. However, a number of them still do not address the trafficking phenomenon in a comprehensive manner, failing to take a victim-centred and human rights-based approach to combating human trafficking. B. 1. Description of main regional and subregional cooperation mechanisms Africa 17. African States have started taking coordinated action both at the regional and subregional levels. At the level of the AU, the Ouagadougou Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, Especially Women and Children, was adopted by Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Development from Africa and the EU in November 2006, at the Africa-EU Ministerial Conference on Migration and Development, held in Tripoli in the framework of the Africa-EU Strategic Partnership. The Action Plan provides specific recommendations to be implemented by Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and member States based on a three-pronged strategy: prevention of trafficking, protection of victims of trafficking and prosecution of those involved in the crime of trafficking. 18. At the subregional level, ECOWAS member States proclaimed their commitment to the eradication of trafficking in persons in 2001, with the adoption of the “Declaration on the fight against trafficking in persons”. At the same time, the ECOWAS Initial Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons for the period 2002–2003 was adopted. Since then, subsequent Plans of Action against Trafficking in Persons have been adopted every triennium, the latest in 2009. 19. ECOWAS and ECCAS decided to combine their efforts and, in July 2006, adopted a joint biregional plan of action for the period 2006–2008, together with a resolution and a multilateral cooperation agreement. This biregional plan of action reaffirms the ECOWAS Initial Plan of Action and extends efforts to combat trafficking into the Central African region. It emphasizes that member States should ensure the ratification and implementation of relevant international instruments, and sets out seven strategies in the following priority areas: legal framework and policy development; victim assistance and protection; prevention and awareness-raising; collection and analysis of information; training and specialized capacity-building; travel and identity documents; monitoring and evaluation of implementation. 2. Latin America and the Caribbean 20. In this region, the commitment to promote effective measures to combat human trafficking was reaffirmed by the member States of a number of regional and subregional GE.10-13211 5