Publication
National Referral Mechanisms - Joining Efforts to Protect the Rights of Trafficked Persons: A Practical Handbook
Date: 13 May 2004, Type: Handbook
A National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is a co-operative framework through which state actors fulfill their obligations to protect and promote the human rights of trafficked persons, co-ordinating their efforts in a strategic partnership with civil society.
The OSCE's Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings recommends that OSCE participating States establish NRMs by building partnerships between civil society and law enforcement, creating guidelines to properly identify trafficked persons, and establishing cross-sector and multidisciplinary teams to develop and monitor anti-trafficking policies.
This handbook, developed and published by the ODIHR, provides guidance on how to design and implement sustainable structures that aim both to prosecute traffickers and to provide support to victims. It addresses the main political, legal, and practical elements to be considered when creating an NRM. Furthermore, this handbook defines suggested roles for governmental institutions and civil society in an NRM, as well as describes the types of programmes and services that should be available to trafficked persons.
"This book attempts to provide answers to the question of what happens after a presumed victim of trafficking ends up in the hands of the police. It looks at countries of destination, where victims should receive shelter and support, not face detention, as well as at their home countries, where they often have nothing to return to except prejudice and where they may even face renewed enslavement."Ambassador Christian Strohal, ODIHR Director, speaking at an event to launch the handbook on 14 May 2004, in Warsaw, Poland.