Legislationline.org provides direct access to international norms and standards relating to specific human dimension issues, as well as to domestic legislation and other documents of relevance to these issues. (OSCE/Piotr Markowski) 23 The final aspect of ODIHR’s work in this field is its role as a clearing house for legal information. This is accomplished mainly through the Office’s online legislative database (www.legislationline.org). Strengthening Capacity for Legislative Reform When states deal with a legislative issue for the first time, they sometimes lack the relevant expertise to produce effective legislation. ODIHR can provide the necessary expertise to bridge this gap by assessing compliance with relevant standards, making recommendations to improve draft legislation, and sharing good practices to help lawmakers explore other options. This process is often followed by roundtable consultations with legislators and civil society on draft laws. A good example of this from 2009 is ODIHR’s work on Kazakhstan’s draft legislation on domestic violence, which constituted part of a package of laws. Following a request from Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry, ODIHR reviewed the draft law, as well as other legislation dealing with the issue, including the Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Civil Code and the Administrative Code. ODIHR then presented an opinion that included a number of recommendations for improvements that were discussed first with lawmakers and then during a roundtable with lawmakers and civil society in Astana in mid-2009. Kazakhstan’s parliament later asked ODIHR to prepare a new opinion on a revised version of the draft law on countering domestic violence, as well as on the draft ODIHR Annual Report 2009 law on crime prevention. Both drafts were then discussed during a workshop in Astana in October, where ODIHR, along with domestic and international experts, presented good practices in the area of crime prevention and combating domestic violence. Both laws have now been passed and, as in all cases, ODIHR will follow up on its recommendations by assessing the extent to which they are reflected in the adopted legislation. In the second half of 2009, Ukraine’s Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports requested that ODIHR review the draft law on combating trafficking in human beings. The resulting opinion is one of a number issued by ODIHR in this field over recent years in order to assist national authorities in bringing their codes and laws into line with international standards in this field. Towards the end of 2009, upon a request from the Armenian Justice Ministry, ODIHR prepared an opinion on the draft law on public organizations. The opinion recommended further consultations with domestic NGOs on the draft law and the enhancement of efforts to harmonize its provisions with international standards. ODIHR’s work in the area of legislative reform sometimes follows up on the Office’s election monitoring activities. For example, ODIHR election observation missions often identify shortcomings, such as restrictions on freedom of assembly or association, limitations on the rights of political parties, or deficiencies in terms of gender equality. Such cases highlight areas where ODIHR’s legislative-review work can have an impact. The opinions issued in 2009 are presented in the following chart: Democratization