A/HRC/14/32
55.
The CoE has also produced a Handbook for Parliamentarians on the CoE
Convention, which comprises a description of the main provisions of the CoE Convention
and is intended as a practical tool that suggests approaches for elected representatives who
wish to propose or amend legislation on trafficking.
Practical guidelines
56.
A comprehensive legal framework is an essential tool for law enforcement officers
and members of the judiciary to properly handle trafficking cases. However, guidelines
which offer concrete examples and share good practices are often a key tool to assist with
the enforcement of these texts.
57.
For example, in 2009 the SAARC Regional Task Force developed a Standard
Operating Procedure to implement various provisions of the SAARC Convention on
Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children. Other organizations have
developed guidelines on specific topics of concern. For example, ASEAN has developed
the Practitioner Guidelines on Criminal Justice Responses to Trafficking in Persons (2007)
to provide guidance to criminal justice practitioners on investigation and prosecution of
trafficking cases as well as on regional cooperation in this regard. Also, the 2009 ASEAN
Handbook on International Cooperation on Trafficking in Persons provides criminal justice
officials with an introduction to the key tools of international cooperation, specifically
mutual legal assistance and extradition in relation to trafficking cases.
58.
OAS has developed “Guidelines for the Repatriation of Trafficking Victims” and a
toolkit which includes a manual, a video and an interactive CD-Rom, for developing
specific model training for diplomats and consular officers. On victim protection, in 2009
ECOWAS adopted a regional Policy for Protection and Assistance to Victims of
Trafficking in Persons in West Africa. Similarly, regional guiding principles on victim
protection and labour recruitment have been adopted by COMMIT in the Mekong region.
Promotion of international cooperation
59.
Regional mechanisms are also an effective means for countries within a region to
cooperate with international organizations. In addition to international legal instruments,
international organizations develop numerous tools, guidelines, model laws and studies that
can be extremely useful to regional organizations, once adapted to their local context. By
using them in this manner, regional mechanisms provide a distinctive way for countries to
benefit from these tools.
60.
International organizations also provide their technical expertise, together with
financial or logistical support, for projects and events, such as workshops or campaigns,
organized at the regional level, as is the case for the Initiative against Trafficking, launched
by AU in June 2009 (AU.COMMIT Campaign). The majority of regional mechanisms
work closely with international organizations. In the case of COMMIT in the Mekong
region, UNIAP is directly providing secretarial services to the Process.
61.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union also works with regional organizations, briefing
parliamentarians on anti-trafficking policies. For example, the Regional Seminar for the
Twelve Plus Group of the IPU on human trafficking was held in February 2010 with the
participation of the CoE, EU and OSCE.
Promotion of cooperation with civil society
62.
Civil society is an important actor in anti-trafficking work. The CoE Convention, for
example, explicitly recognizes the significant role that civil society plays in preventing
trafficking and protecting and assisting victims and encourages cooperation between public
authorities and members of civil society in this field. Similarly, in the COMMIT Process,
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