In helping state and non-state actors to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings, the Anti Trafficking Unit assists the Government in drafting and implementing the National Anti-Trafficking Strategy and the Action Plan to combat human trafficking and protect victims. To enhance the collection and analysis of data, the Presence is supporting the Government's efforts to establish a database on trafficking cases.

Working with the Government, the Unit has facilitated cross-border co-operation with the anti-trafficking authorities of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Kosovo. With funding from Austria, the Unit is implementing a project that focuses on the protection of trafficking victims. To enhance their independence and reintegration, victims receive training on small business development, and have been given micro-credits for start-up businesses.

Other activities to protect victims and prevent others from falling prey to traffickers have included publishing the manual "Identification and Protection of Victims of Trafficking" for law enforcement officials, supporting an NGO campaign against forced child begging, and helping the Government draft and publish a set of standards for the social care of victims.

In co-operation with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Office of the Co-ordinator for OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, the Unit is implementing a programme to promote economic empowerment and legal assistance as tools to help prevent human trafficking.

This programme follows the successful Women's Rights and Anti-Trafficking Education (WRATE) project carried out between 2000 and 2004. The WRATE project, the first of its kind in Albania, aimed to sensitize certain groups on women's human rights and increase the awareness of those most at risk on issues of domestic violence and trafficking. It also provided information on services to support victims of these crimes.