A/HRC/14/32 organizations, in particular OAS, MERCOSUR, CAN, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), and the Central American Integration System (SICA). 21. OAS is strongly engaged in combating human trafficking on the American continent. At the political level, the OAS General Assembly has adopted resolutions that express the commitment of member States in this regard. At the level of the secretariat, the OAS Anti-Trafficking in Persons Unit provides specialized training and assistance to member countries to implement the Palermo Protocol and the recommendations stemming from the OAS Meetings of National Authorities on Trafficking in Persons. The secretariat primarily focuses on awareness-raising, provision of training, dissemination of international legal frameworks and the sharing of good practices to enable States to combat trafficking more effectively, taking both a human-rights and a gender perspective. 22. The Montevideo Declaration against Trafficking in Persons in MERCOSUR and Associated States was adopted in 2005. More recently, in 2008, the First International Congress of MERCOSUR and Associated States on Trafficking in Persons and Child Pornography was held, followed by the adoption of the “Conclusions and Recommendations” of the Congress. 3. Asia-Pacific 23. A number of initiatives have been launched to combat human trafficking in the AsiaPacific region. ASEAN has adopted the “ASEAN Declaration against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children” (2004), followed by the adoption of a Work Plan to implement the Declaration. The main objectives of the Work Plan are to facilitate the exchange of information and experience on trafficking, strengthen regional and international cooperation to prevent and combat trafficking, and facilitate donor coordination. The Working Group on Trafficking in Persons, established under the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC), is in charge of monitoring the implementation of the Work Plan. ASEAN launched its first programme, Asian Regional Cooperation to Prevent People Trafficking (ARCPPT) (2003–2006), which was implemented by the Australian Government. The Project focused on criminal justice responses to trafficking in partner countries. Following its success, the Project was extended to 2011 as the Asia Regional Trafficking in Persons Project (ARTIP). 24. In the Mekong region, six Governments (Cambodia, China, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam) established the COMMIT Process in 2004. The COMMIT Subregional Plan of Action for 2008–2010 contains eight key activities: Training and Capacity Building; National Plans of Action; Multilateral and Bilateral Partnerships; Legal Frameworks, Law Enforcement, and Justice; Victim Identification, Protection, Recovery and Reintegration; Preventive Measures; Cooperation with the Tourism Sector; and Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation. Activities are being implemented in partnership between relevant government departments and non-government entities, whether United Nations agencies or non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP), which was established in 2000 with a mandate to facilitate a stronger and more coordinated response to trafficking in persons in the Mekong region and beyond, acts as secretariat to COMMIT. 25. SAARC, established in 1985 by Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, adopted a Regional Convention on Combating the Crime of Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution in January 2002. The Convention calls for cooperation amongst member States in dealing with various aspects of prevention, prohibition and suppression of trafficking in women and children for prostitution, and repatriation and rehabilitation of victims. 6 GE.10-13211