Former Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik, a member of the Advisory Panel of the Regional Women’s Lobby (RWL) for Peace, Security and Justice in Southeast Europe, speaks at an RWL meeting, Zagreb, Croatia, 1 September. (OSCE/Linda Öhman) 19 Weak or Underdeveloped Democratic Institutions For states to be truly democratic they must have strong democratic institutions and a strong democratic culture. There is a clear link between well-run elections and respect for the rule of law, on one hand, and democratic outcomes, on the other. In many parts of the OSCE region, institutions such as parliaments, which are crucial for strengthening democratic governance, need continued support. Gender Equality and Women’s Participation in Democratic Processes In many OSCE states women are significantly underrepresented in the political domain or face structural or societal barriers that impede their full participation in political life. Traditional patriarchal attitudes and behaviour may serve as a primary barrier to the promotion of gender equality, with the general public often not even considering such practices discriminatory. This ultimately limits women’s participation in and contribution to democratic processes. still remain, creating a number of legal and administrative barriers that hinder freedom of movement and free choice of place of residence. Because an individual’s registered place of residence is linked to the provision of state services, internal migrants often face difficulties in exercising their right to vote and accessing health care, education and even the labour market. Although population-registration reforms have been introduced throughout the region, remaining barriers to freedom of movement still need to be addressed. Activities ODIHR’s democratization activities can be divided into three basic areas: 55 Rule of law and legal reform; 55 Democratic governance and participation in public affairs; and 55 Migration and freedom of movement. Reforming PopulationRegistration Systems In some participating States, remnants of the Soviet population-registration system known as the propiska ODIHR Annual Report 2009 Democratization