Shida Kartli. The Association "Anika" held meetings with local people and representatives of municipalities in Shida Kartli within the framework of the advocacy campaign of the project “Cross-Disability Partnership for Protecting the Rights using Law”. “The purpose of the meetings was to present the needs identified as a result of the research, to consult with the focus groups, and to discuss future plans with the representatives of municipalities". Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Shida-Kartli. Kaori Ishikawa, the UN Women Country Representative in Georgia, visited the Gori Crisis Centre for the victims and survivors of domestic violence, got acquainted with the activities of the Center and discussed plans and opportunities related to its sustainability. “Center offers not only psychological, social and economic assistance and rehabilitation but also medical, legal and referral services to the victims and survivors of violence”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. The Public Defender’s Office has prepared a study assessing the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic on the rights situation of women working in the health sector, both in their workplace and social life. To address the above needs, a small-scale survey was conducted and 90 women employed in the health sector were interviewed by telephone. Both nurses and doctors were among the respondents. Read more… Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. At the request of PHR, when providing services to deaf and hard of hearing people, the doctor is obliged to use a transparent face mask. “The Ministry took our request into account and added a sub-paragraph to the decree on the rule of wearing a face mask. As a result, from now on, the educational and medical services provider must use a transparent face mask or face shield for the deaf and hard of hearing persons”. Read more… Source: www.phr.ge

Tbilisi. According to the information of the GYLA, the investigative authorities refused the person in the so-called “Eavesdropping’s Case” to be recognized as a victim. “GYLA will appeal in court in the coming days against the decision to refuse to recognize a person as a victim. We hope that the court will properly assess the procedural standards required to identify a person as a victim and will meet the requirement. We call on the Investigative Authorities, given the high public interest, in this case, to inform the public about the progress of the investigation step by step”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Shida-Kartli. With the assistance of the GYLA’s Gori branch lawyers’ dismissed person won the dispute. “An employee had been working for the Akhaltsikhe Service of the Civil Registry Agency since 2006. Due to the reorganization in 2020, he/she was dismissed so that neither the staff list nor the written justification for dismissal had been handed over, which was provided by the Labor Code. The plaintiff sought annulment of the dismissal order, reinstatement in service, and the outstanding salary reimbursement for forced absence (payroll reinstatement).  The court of all three instances found that the dismissal did not comply with the requirements of the law; therefore, the claim was fully satisfied - the dismissal order was annulled, the employee was reinstated, and the outstanding salary was reimbursed for forced absence. Accordingly, the judgment has already been enforced, and the employee has been reinstated in the service”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. On the night of January 30, 2022, 9 people were injured in an explosion in the Mindeli mine. One of them died after being taken to hospital. The Public Defender expresses her deep sorrow over the incident, offers her condolences to the family of the deceased and wishes the injured a speedy recovery.  “The Public Defender calls on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Labour Inspectorate to respond to the incident in a timely and effective manner, including by identifying the causes of the tragedy, in order to avoid similar cases in the future. The Public Defender also calls on the Labour Inspectorate to identify all the violations and risks within the framework of the current inspection and to use all legal levers to remedy them”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. According to the information of Georgia Young Lawyers’ Association, the patient, whose interests were represented by the GYLA Gori office in court, won a lawsuit against the Giorgi Abramashvili Military Hospital. The court ordered the medical facility to reimburse the costs of medical care and moral damages in favor of the patient. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia established sexual harassment in the workplace and addressed the harasser as well as the employer, Evolution Georgia Ltd, with a recommendation. The relevant application was referred to the Public Defender's Office by the Labour Inspection Service. “Ombudsman examined the case materials, including the applicant's interview transcript, correspondence between the parties, as well as information received from the third party, and concluded that the applicant was subjected to undesirable verbal behavior of a sexual nature by her colleague, which degraded and humiliated her”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Georgia Fair Labor Platform member organizations mourn the death of the miner and call on the state to immediately investigate the causes of the incident and raise the issue of liability of the relevant senior officials of the company. Read more…  Source: The page in the social network

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center, GYLA, and ISFED will protect the interests of persons dismissed as a result of staff cleansing by Tsulukiani in the cultural field. “Following the appointment of Tea Tsulukiani as the Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, a reshuffle and large-scale changes began in the institutions subordinated to the Ministry of Culture, which finally took the form of staff persecution. At this stage, a total of 70 employees have been fired from the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation and the Georgian National Museum, and dozens of outstanding employees continue to work in various positions in the same system under the fear of dismissal. We call minister Tsulukiani to stop the persecution of highly professional personnel of the field of culture due to their professional and different opinions and take into account the demands of organized resistance of the dismissed employees, to allow people with relevant competence and experience to continue their work to protect the cultural heritage monuments, museum exhibits and national treasures of Georgia”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Center publishes the report: The state of Human Rights in Georgia, 2021. “This Report reviews the state of human rights in Georgia in 2021. Traditionally, it covers all significant legal and political developments, which influenced the state of human rights in the country. The report relies on the data collected and evaluations made by Human Rights Center, other Georgian civil society organizations, the Public Defender of Georgia and international organizations. The goal of the report is to assess the activities of various state bodies in terms of human rights protection, also the level of response of different state organs towards human rights violations, the efficiency of the judiciary and the legal and systemic changes which should aim to implement international human rights standards on the national level”. Read more… Source: hrc.ge

Tbilisi. On January 28 Giorgi Burjanadze, Deputy Public Defender of Georgia, met with Kirsti Narinen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Finland to Georgia, and Marja Liivala, Director General of the Department for Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland. “The Deputy Public Defender reviewed the human rights situation in the country and spoke about the challenges relating to the protection of the rights of minorities and elimination of discrimination, shortcomings in the judiciary and other important issues”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

On January 27, 2022, Nino Lomjaria, Public Defender of Georgia, met with Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg. „The Public Defender reviewed the human rights situation of Georgia. emphasized the challenges facing independent democratic institutions, including the abolition of the State Inspector’s Office in the hastened and non-transparent manner, as well as attacks on the Public Defender of Georgia. The meeting also focused on the offences committed against journalists and their improper investigation“. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

On January 26, 2022, Nino Lomjaria, Public Defender of Georgia, met with Régis Brillat, Executive Secretary of the Committee against Torture (CPT), in Strasbourg. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. UNDP Georgia prepared the survey “Situation Analysis of the Rights of People with Disabilities in Georgia”. “People with disabilities remain marginalized in Georgian society. They lack access to education, employment and healthcare. They face violence, stigma and prejudice, especially women and girls with disabilities. Systemic and coordinated changes are needed to improve disability services and benefits and to reform the entire system of disability assessment, moving from a “medical” to “social” model”. Read more… Source: www.ge.undp.org

Tbilisi. On December 21, 2021, the Public Defender of Georgia addressed Shukruti+ Ltd with a recommendation to eliminate discrimination on the grounds of dissenting opinion in labour relations. “According to the factual circumstances, the company fired a miner, who spoke to the company's administration about problems in the workspace, including non-compliance with safety standards. According to the miner, he was fired for expressing his views and dissatisfaction, while the respondent (Shukruti+ Ltd) could not provide arguments proving that the reason for the applicant's dismissal was not his views on safety at work. In view of the above, the Public Defender called on the respondent to eliminate the consequences of discrimination against the applicant, in particular, to reinstate him in the same or equivalent position…” Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The analytical document describes challenges and barriers in healthcare system that are experienced by women living in Marneuli municipality and highland Adjara. "You might feel pain but you do not pay attention because it costs a lot to see a doctor. We do not have a context where you go there in advance even if you have money. It is true that you have to take care of yourself first, but when you see a family behind you, [which] does not have enough resources ... you do not allow yourself to go and do medical examination on yourself unless it troubles you". (Respondent from Adjara) "The state generally does not invest resources in preventive care, it is so expensive that it remains inaccessible to the population ... State funding is [mainly] reserved for the most severe health problems". (Respondent from Marneuli municipality) "I can not afford [to buy medicine] because I have financial problems. Sometimes I am not able to buy my medicine on time, sometimes I can only buy half of it". (Respondent from Marneuli municipality) Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. On January 25-27, 2022, Nino Lomjaria, Public Defender of Georgia, will pay an official visit to Strasbourg, where she will hold high-level meetings. The Public Defender will provide information on the human rights situation of Georgia. The main focus will be on media environment, equality situation, judicial and other democratic processes. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The signatory organizations support the protest of the IDPs living in the building of the sanatorium "Kartli" and mourn the grave tragedy that occurred on January 16 and call on the Georgian authorities to quickly act on ensuring the safe and dignified accommodation for the IDPs. “We believe that the state has neglected its obligation to protect the life and health of IDPs living in the dangerous environment, and the tragedy of January 16 is the result of a policy of inaction and mistrust”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. On January 17, 2022, the Public Defender of Georgia met with IDPs living in Kartli sanatorium and listened to their problems. “In view of the above circumstances, the Public Defender considers that since the facility is dangerous to live in, including for minors living in the building, it is important for the State to conduct result-oriented negotiations with internally displaced families, to hear about the obstacles in the process of searching for housing and their fears regarding rents, as well as to prevent risks and ensure the resettlement of IDPs in a safe place as soon as possible”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender expresses her condolences over the suicide of an IDP living in the building of former sanatorium "Kartli" in the settlement of the Sea District in Tbilisi and offers her sympathy to the family members and relatives of the deceased. “In recent years, the Public Defender examined the rights situation of IDPs living in the former sanatorium building Kartli and found that the Agency for Refugees, Eco-Migrants and Livelihoods unreasonably refused to check the technical sustainability of the building (to conduct the relevant inspection). As a result, on December 21, 2020, the Public Defender addressed the Agency with a recommendation and requested a technical sustainability inspection of the building. The expert opinion confirms the existence of an environment that poses an increased risk to life and health”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge