This handbook 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 a National Referral Mechanism (NRM). Furthermore, it 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. The handbook is intended for governmental representatives (as a methodology, resource, and tool for NRM design and implementation); civil society actors (as a practical tool to implement and support structures for affected persons -in co-operation with governments- and as a tool for advocacy and lobbying); law-enforcement structures (for capacity-building, training measures, and best practices). The handbook also aims to strengthen the capacity of OSCE field operations to assist governments by providing effective guidance and a methodology that can be adapted to the national situation.
