2010, a conference and training activities were jointly organized by ODIHR and the OSCE Mission in Baku with the aim to support the Ombudsperson Institution as the newly created NPM mechanism. This event gathered 60 representatives from the Ombudsperson Institution itself, civil society organizations, parliamentarians, various actors from the government and international experts, providing them a platform to discuss the opportunities and challenges of the new mechanism. A law incorporating the NPM was adopted in December 2010, implementing a recommendation from the conference. ODIHR also mainstreams gender in the operations of penal institutions and carries out awareness raising activities for detention officials and staff through the "Penal Reform and Gender" module of the Gender and Security Sector Reform Toolkit which was translated into Russian in 2010 for wider distribution within the OSCE region. Moreover, on 17-18 June, the ODIHR Rule of Law Programme jointly with the OSCE field operations in the region conducted its annual Expert Forum on Criminal Justice for Central Asia in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Over 120 officials, academics, and criminal justice practitioners from Central Asian States discussed reforms in the criminal justice sector and exchanged opinions with international experts. Inter alia, participants discussed police activities carried out prior to the initiation of criminal proceedings. It was suggested that such activities should be integrated with criminal investigations and accompanied by appropriate procedural safeguards. The Forum Report contains relevant recommendations to the policy-makers of the region. Combating Violence against Women ODIHR continued to engage in preventing and combating violence against women, focusing on improving the legal framework and strengthening the capacities of law enforcement agencies, state authorities, and civil society to provide adequate and effective responses to this crime. Upon request from the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, ODIHR undertook a legal review of the draft law of Kosovo on Protection against Domestic Violence and subsequently presented its recommendations as well as international standards and practices for combating domestic violence at a round table discussion in March 2010. A strengthened role and specialized training for all relevant actors were recommended. Improving police responses to domestic violence cases was highlighted as important, specifically in terms of allowing police to issue emergency protection orders to provide timely and effective protection to victims of violence. State officials and civil society activists from Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine learned about Austrian practices in promoting gender equality and combating domestic violence, in a study visit to Vienna, held in May 2010. Members of the Austrian Parliament, the Women’s Department of the Municipality of Vienna, and the Austrian Women' s Shelter Network shared their first-hand experiences and methods in preventing and combating domestic violence. Co-operation between law enforcement agencies and civil society was discussed as a crucial element of victim protection programs. The importance of effective national mechanisms and the need for continuously improving the skills and capacities of police officers were highlighted as priorities in combating domestic violence. In turn, ODIHR held consultations with Austrian police experts in July 2010, discussing a joint development of a manual on domestic violence interventions for first line police officers, planned for 2011. Police and Roma and Sinti Recognizing the importance of good relations between the police and Roma and Sinti communities to combat discrimination and racial violence, and to ensure that Roma and Sinti are able to play an equal part in society, the OSCE SPMU and ODIHR have worked together over the past several years to collect information and examples of good practices in breaking down the barriers of distrust and building trust and understanding between police and Roma 116