Second Annual Report of the National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) 2014 - Kingdom of Bahrain advice and assistance to the victims and those affected, providing the necessary supporting documents and papers for these victims and those affected and adjusting their legal status, and adopting an approach for the protection of the victims and those affected, especially women and children, based on international human rights standards, and directing the media to consider the necessary privacy necessary in this regard. 26. With respect to the third strategic theme related to “prosecution”, it includes two key strategic objectives; the first is to “strengthen the rule of law and create specialized judicial rooms” through promoting the capacity of the public prosecution and the judicial authority officers to ensure the application of the law, taking the necessary legal measures to prosecute the perpetrators of this type of crime, and protecting witnesses of this crime. The second objective deals with “introducing an executive body that is qualified and specialized in the fight against trafficking in persons” by developing a legal framework for combating trafficking in persons unit at the concerned law enforcement bodies and creating data and information specific to this unit. 27. The fourth and last strategic theme is related to “building local, regional and international partnerships”. It includes two key strategic objectives. The first objective is to “promote transparency, participatory approach and cooperation” by enhancing the channels of communication between governmental and non-governmental entities and cases of trafficking in persons without prejudice to the privacy of the relevant parties, and connecting the work carried out by the relevant authorities with the National Committee to combat the crime of trafficking in persons. The second strategic objective addresses “local, regional and international cooperation” through the promotion of local international and regional cooperation, activating the channels of communication and the exchange of information and experience, as well as coordinating and cooperating with the diplomatic missions inside and outside the Kingdom in all matters related to this crime. 28. NIHR monitored the activities of the National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons. It was noted that it does not have a prominent activity that is commensurate with the scale and development of the crime as well as the mandates assigned to the Committee under the Law. In addition, since its formation, the Committee did not publish its reports to the public on a regular basis in order for the public opinion to be informed of the efforts made to combat and prevent the crime of trafficking in Persons. 29. It should be noted that NIHR has already addressed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2013 to obtain information about the role of the National Committee, the decisions issued by it, the number of cases related to trafficking in Persons, the accused persons in these crimes, the judgments issued against them, the mechanisms adopted by the state to protect victims and their family members, the actions taken for their rehabilitation, the compensation provided to them, and the actions taken with regard to domestic workers and the assistance provided to them for the purpose of assessing the reality of the crime, the ability to control it, and the constraints, if any, in order to submit proposals and solutions. 30. To identify the reality of the crime of trafficking in Persons in terms of the number of cases during 2014, NIHR addressed the public prosecution, being the competent investigation authority, to inquire about the number of cases in this crime and the actions taken in this regard. The public prosecution indicated that it received twenty-one cases during 2014. Ten cases were referred to the competent court after the conclusion of the investigation and the defendants were convicted. Five cases are still under investigation, while six cases were dismissed. However, the public prosecution did not indicate the reasons for dismissal. 71