15 INTRODUCTION OSCE participating State9 NHRI 24 Luxembourg Consultative Commission on Human Rights 25 Moldova Centre for Human Rights 26 Montenegro Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms 27 Netherlands Dutch Equal Treatment Commission 28 Norway Norwegian Centre for Human Rights 29 Poland Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Poland 30 Portugal Ombudsman 31 Romania Romanian Institute for Human Rights 32 Serbia Protector of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia 33 Spain Ombudsman 34 Sweden Equality Ombudsman 35 Switzerland Swiss Centre of Expertise in Human Rights 10 36 Tajikistan Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) 37 Ukraine Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights 38 United Kingdom Equality and Human Rights Commission In addition and independently of the survey, a  number of institutions from the OSCE region shared with ODIHR their expertise in promoting women’s rights and gender equality, either in consultation or in writing, including the Commissioner on Human Rights in the Russian Federation, the Gender Equality Ombudsperson of Croatia, the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson of Lithuania, and the Icelandic Centre for Gender Equality. While the responses of these institutions are not reflected in the quantitative survey analysis, some of the information provided is included in specific examples throughout the Handbook. 10 The Swiss Centre of Expertise in Human Rights (SCHR) is not an NHRI according to the Paris Principles, but a pilot project launched by the Swiss government to strengthen Switzerland’s capacities with regard to the implementation of human rights obligations. The SCHR’s legal basis is not a law but an agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the universities involved in the project (so called Framework Agreement).