The Council of Europe’s Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings enters into force on 1 February 2008 in the first ten countries that ratified it: Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Georgia, Moldova, Romania and Slovakia, a press release from the Council of Europe’s Press Division reads. The Convention aims to prevent trafficking, protect the human rights of victims and prosecute traffickers. It applies to all victims of trafficking: women, men and children alike; to all forms of exploitation (sexual exploitation, forced labour, servitude, removal of organs etc.) and it covers all forms of trafficking: national and transnational, related or not to organised crime. The new Convention, the first European treaty in this field, provides for raising awareness among persons vulnerable to trafficking and actions aimed at discouraging “consumers” to prevent trafficking in human beings. Victims of trafficking will be granted physical and psychological assistance and support for their reintegration into society, and will also be entitled to receive compensation. In addition, victims are entitled to a minimum of 30 days to recover and escape from the influence of the traffickers and to take a decision regarding their possible cooperation with the authorities. Under the Convention, trafficking will be considered as a criminal offence: traffickers and their accomplices will therefore be prosecuted. The private life and the safety of victims of trafficking will be protected throughout the course of judicial proceedings. The Convention provides the possibility of not imposing penalties on victims for their involvement in unlawful activities, if they were compelled to do so by their situation. The Convention provides for the setting up of an independent monitoring body capable of controlling the obligations contained in it. To this end, within one year of the entry into force, the Council of Europe will set up the Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA), formed by ten to fifteen experts In Bosnia and Herzegovina, France and Norway, the Convention will take effect on 1 May 2008. Opened for signature in Warsaw in May 2005 at the 3rd Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe, the Convention has been signed, but not yet ratified by 24 other states. According to the International Labour Organisation, up to 2.45 million people throughout the world are victims of human trafficking every year. The illicit profits of this trade amount to 33 billion dollars annually, making it the third most profitable criminal activity after illegal drugs and arms trafficking.