[ Democratization ] Participants at the annual OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, Warsaw, 26 September 2011. (OSCE/Piotr Markowski) leadership and women candidates, in co-operation with the OSCE Office in Yerevan, to promote women as party candidates in the run-up to parliamentary elections in Armenia in 2012. In 2011, ODIHR also began work to enhance the quality and consistency of reporting on women’s political participation as part of the work of ODIHR election observation activities. These efforts will provide a more comprehensive foundation for follow-up activities in the sphere of women’s participation in political life in OSCE participating States. Recognizing the key role of civil society, ODIHR continued to support the active participation of women civil society representatives at ODIHR events. Women Power Breakfasts were organized in Warsaw on the margins of the Human Dimension Seminar from 18 to 20 May and of the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting from 26 September to 7 October to facilitate an exchange of experiences among representatives of OSCE institutions, civil society and international organizations. Strengthening National Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women National mechanisms for the advancement of women give expression to women’s and gender issues and serve 32 ODIHR Annual Report 2011 as protectors of women’s rights, as well as monitors of state compliance with national and international obligations. Such mechanisms have been established across the OSCE region, albeit with varying degrees of effectiveness in ensuring that gender equality commitments are put into practice. Implementation of ODIHR’s National Human Rights Institutions and Gender Equality Project continued in 2011, with the commissioning of the Pilot Comparative Review: National Human Rights Institutions and their Practices in Protecting and Promoting Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. The review identifies common structural and procedural challenges faced by national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in promoting gender equality and provides examples of effective gender programming. The workshop “NHRIs and Gender Equality”, held on 28 and 29 March in Prague, provided a platform for the exchange of experiences among NHRI representatives. A survey of NHRI gender-equality practices in the OSCE region was conducted in 2011, the findings of which will inform the Handbook for National Human Rights Institutions on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, to be published by ODIHR in 2012. ODIHR also continued to support participating States in the development of gender-equality legislation and strategies, including national action plans. In April,