A/HRC/10/16 page 11 • The Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery (arts. 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7)8 • The General Assembly Declaration on Violence against Women (arts. 2 and 3) • The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action • The Beijing Platform of Action B. Regional legal framework and policy 21. At regional level, the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings which entered into force in February 2008 is an excellent regional example of using a rights-based approach to combat trafficking in persons. The Convention adopted the definition of trafficking contained in the Palermo Protocol and went beyond, by articulating the principle of non-discrimination and including safeguards for the protection of rights and the provision of assistance to victims.9 Importantly, this convention is open to ratification by States which are not members of the Council of Europe. 22. Other regional instruments include the Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution adopted by the States members of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation in 2002; the Inter-American Convention on International Traffic in Minors and the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, “Convention of Belem Do Para”;10 the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights;11 the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child;12 the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa.13 There are also interesting subregional initiatives that are worthy of mention, such as the ECOWAS/ECCAS Joint Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children in West and Central Africa (2006-2009). 8 See also the Slavery Convention, 1926, amended by Protocol, 1953. 9 See, in particular, arts 1-6 and 10-16. 10 Article 2 of the Belem do Para Convention defines violence and 2 (b) lists trafficking in persons as a form of violence against women. 11 See articles 2, 5, 15, 18 (3), 60 and 61. 12 Specifically article 29. 13 Article 4 (2) (g) prohibits trafficking in children and women and requires States to prosecute the perpetrators of such trafficking and protect those at risk. Other relevant articles are 2, 3, 11, 13 and 24.