Tbilisi. Social Justice Center (formerly EMC) responds to the protest taking place in the village of Shukruti of Chiatura Municipality and makes a special statement. 

“On May 11, the 85th day of the protest, several residents of Shukruti exercised an extreme form of protest and had their mouths sewn, however, the mining company, as well as local and central authorities, remain indifferent to their demands. As a matter of fact, the company operates under an indefinite license and is distinguished with opaque practices. Public concerns in regard to extraction causing harm to the natural and social environment of the entire village deserve immediate study and response. Although the protest has started in the fall of 2019, the local Government systematically ignores it, thus leaving the population of the village face-to-face with the mining company, while “Georgian Manganese” avoids its responsibility and, despite verbal promises, refuses to entertain demands”.

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Source: socialjustice.org.ge

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Samegrelo. UN Women and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have started promoting the economic empowerment of women farmers in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti.

„As part of the project “Promoting the Economic Empowerment of Women Farmers through the Support of Farmer Field School (FFS) Approaches”, the representatives of the two UN agencies met with the current and potential partners in the target region and discussed future prospects for cooperation. In particular, the content and goals of the project were introduced to the organizations working on the issues of women’s empowerment in Zugdidi Municipality; a consultation meeting was held with the head of the Social Protection Department, Gogi Revia. As a result, future plans for the cooperation between UN Women and the municipality in raising awareness on one of the components of the project - women’s rights and domestic violence - have been outlined.”

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Source: georgia.unwomen.org

Tbilisi. The state is obliged to ensure inspection of a child rights related situation in a Ninotsminda boarding school immediately - the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

“Today, on May 7, by 8 pm, a non-governmental organization “Partnership for Human Rights” received a message from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Committee issued an interim measure, thus satisfying a May 5 appeal of the organization, and instructed the Government to ensure that a monitoring is carried out at the Ninotsminda boarding school by all relevant agencies”. 

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Source: phr.ge

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center (formerly EMC) critically appraises the bill on Amnesty that is drafted by the “Georgian Dream” about June 19-21 developments. The bill provides a blanket exemption from criminal liability for a wide range of crimes related to June 19-21 developments, as well as excludes victims from the process completely. 

In the opinion of the organization:

“The bill on Amnesty should be based on a broad public and political consensus; 

The amnesty should be clear and precise in its content and more emphasis, in the process, should be placed on the involvement of victims and their interests;

In order to reduce polarization in the country and shift political processes to a constructive, institutional mode, the government must show real political will for fundamental electoral and judicial reforms, as well as for distribution of political power”.

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Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. On May 19, Georgia’s Responsible Business Awards Meliora 2020 will be conducted in an online format.

This year the Contest is intended to take place in a special format and companies will be awarded for those projects and initiatives, which they have implemented to fight against the COVID pandemic within the framework of their corporate social responsibility (CSR). “At the award ceremony, companies will be awarded for projects they have implemented to overcome the crisis caused by the pandemic, while categories are going to be as follows: supporting employees, supporting clients, customers, and suppliers, supporting society and local communities, as well as supporting SMEs and most suffered industries.

Georgia’s Responsible Business Awards Meliora 2020 is sponsored by Moore ABC. Meliora 2020 is implemented within the framework of the project “Civil Society Initiative: Sustainable, Open and Accountable Civil Society Organizations for Development of Georgia” funded by the European Union and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS)”, Georgia’s Responsible Business Awards.

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Source: meliora.ge