Pilot Comparative Review: National Human Rights Institutions and their Practices in Protecting and Promoting Women's Rights and Gender Equality

This Pilot Comparative Review (the “Review”) was prepared for the “National Human Rights
Institutions and Gender Equality Project” of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (ODIHR). This joint initiative of the ODIHR Democratization and Human
Rights Departments seeks to strengthen the capacity of national human rights institutions
(NHRIs) in the OSCE region to protect and promote women’s rights and gender equality.

The Review intends to identify institutional features, good practices and areas of challenge for
national human rights institutions (NHRIs) with respect to their work on women's rights and
gender equality. Seventeen NHRIs from across the OSCE region participated in the
questionnaire phase of the Review, including institutions from the Balkans, Eastern Europe,
South Caucasus, and Central Asia. In addition, the United Nations Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and a specialised institution, the Lithuanian Equal
Opportunities Ombudsperson, participated in a workshop held in Prague in March 2011.