CONTACT POINT FOR ROMA AND SINTI ISSUES    39 for victims of forced sterilization and other human rights violations from Norway, Sweden and Switzerland were also presented. The conference participants defined ways forward and recommendations, and called on the Czech authorities to implement the recommendations of international bodies to establish effective compensation mechanisms for all the victims of forced and coercive sterilization. ROMA AND RELATED GROUPS IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA The situation of Roma and related groups in South Caucasus and Central Asia has so far received little international attention. In order to deepen knowledge about the situation of Roma and related communities in these regions, the Contact Point organized the first international consultation meeting on this topic on 18 May in Tbilisi. Thirty-three participants, including Roma and Mugat activists from ODIHR Associate Programme Officer on Roma and Sinti Issues Kati Jaaskelainen meets with a Roma IDP family in Kharkhiv region, Ukraine, 22 November 2016. In 2016, women made up 43% of all ODIHR election observers. Women ROMA INCLUSION IN UKRAINE made upODIHR undertook a follow-up visit to the From 21 November to 2 December, 70% Transcarpathia, Odessa and Kharkiv regions to better understand the current situation of Roma at the local level and, especially, to assess implementation of the Strategy for the Protection and Integration of the Roma, adopted by Ukrainian authorities in 2014. The main topics addressed during the visit were access to documents, of participants education and housing, and relations between police and Roma, with a specific focus on Roma women. ODIHR meetings with regional administrations, international atheld Democratization organizations and civil society representatives and visited Roma communities across events in 2016. the three regions. Georgia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as civil society activists supporting Roma and related communities, academics from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and international experts attended the ODIHR event on The Situation of Roma and Related Groups in the South Caucasus and Central Asia Regions: Experiences and Way Forward. The meeting provided a unique platform for sharing different regional experiences and exploring the economic and social situations of these communities. “ Further action is needed to foster the social and economic integration of Roma, and civil society organizations and the international community, including ODIHR, have an important role in bringing Roma issues to the public agenda." Ucha Nanuashvili, Public Defender of Georgia, at ODIHR's consultation meeting on the Situation of Roma and Related Groups in the South Caucasus and Central Asia Regions: Experiences and Way Forward, Tbilisi, 18 May 2016. Women made up 42% of participants at Contact Point for Roma and Sinti events in 2016.