DEMOCRATIZATION Kaja Kallas, Member of the Estonian Parliament and Chairperson of the Economic Affairs Committee speaking at the ODIHR Regional Workshop on Parliamentary Ethics and Codes of Conduct in Warsaw, 19 March. OSCE/ Agnieszka Rembowska. Aiming to strengthen gender equality and women’s role in parliaments, ODIHR continued to promote its Comparative Study of Structures for Women MPs. The study presents an eight-step framework for the effective establishment and running of women’s parliamentary caucuses. It was presented at the Sixth OSCE Regional Conference of Women MPs, held on 5 March in Sarajevo, facilitating a discussion on gender-sensitivity in parliaments and highlighting the importance of multi-party ­co-operation on gender equality. ODIHR supported the Parliamentary Women’s Caucus of Mongolia in sharing knowledge and developing policy and strategic planning, by organizing a Study Visit to Sweden from 3 to 5 June in Stockholm. Mongolian parliamentarians were provided with the opportunity to discuss gender equality issues with the Swedish government, parliament, political parties and women’s organizations. In 2014, ODIHR started expanding its work on women’s participation to the local level, by collecting comparative data on women’s representation in local councils and mayoral offices, as well as by providing support on women’s participation to ­local-level policymakers. In workshops held in ­Albania, Austria, Georgia and Poland, ODIHR discussed strategies for advancing women’s access and role in local politics with political stakeholders. ODIHR continued to prioritize co-operation with OSCE field operations and institutions on this issue, 34 ODIHR Annual Report 2014 organizing a Workshop on Women’s Political Participation for OSCE Staff on 6 and 7 February in ­Warsaw. Participants from 14 OSCE field operations, the Office of the OSCE High Commissioner for ­National Minorities, the Gender Section at the OSCE Secretariat and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly shared good practices and challenges in implementing women’s participation programming and identified entry points for enhancing and streamlining such work in their areas of responsibility. The participants jointly worked on developing a Comprehensive Framework to OSCE Programming on Women’s Political Participation. Strengthening National Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women National mechanisms for the advancement of women are crucial to protecting women’s rights and monitoring state compliance with national and international gender equality obligations. In 2014, ODIHR contributed to the launch of the Mongolian translation of the Handbook for National Human Rights Institutions on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, held on 15 April in Ulaanbaatar and supported the National Human Rights Commission and civil society in Mongolia to protect women’s rights more effectively. In co-operation with the OSCE Mission to Serbia, ODIHR supported a study visit to Lithuania of the Serbian Citizens’ Protector, Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, and the Provincial Citizens’ Protector, from 5 to 8 October in Vilnius.