Tbilisi. The Public Defender has published a special report – “Compliance of social and health care programs of self-governing bodies with the principle of equality”, which contains an analysis of compliance of municipal programs with anti-discrimination legislation. “The study found that some programs of local self-governments apply discriminatory criteria in terms of gender, disability, age, marital status and other grounds while determining target beneficiary groups, as a result of which a number of groups are left out of the program. Besides, there are used terms and regulations, which encourage discrimination against different groups and reinforce existing stigmas. In some cases, selection for participation in the program from people with similar needs is done without any justification”. Read more… Source:ombudsman.ge

E-cards cover a variety of important issues about vaccination in the time of COVID-19. The cards were developed in the framework of the EU Neighborhood Policy in cooperation with the World Health Organization and EUvsDisinfo All you need to know about vaccination in the time of COVID-19

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center (formerly EMC) prepared a report on drug policy trends for 2020. “The report contains a review of a current drug crimes related situation in the field of justice, 2020 statistics on the criminal prosecution of drug crimes and convictions, drug testing, the number of probationers and other relevant issues”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes an interview with Nino Chkhobadze, an environmental defender, Co-Chair of the Greens Movement of Georgia/Friends of the Earth - Georgia. “The Chernobyl disaster contradicted a narrative about Soviet power or predominance in the field of science, threatened the politics of the Soviet Union. That is why, for a long period of time, they tried in the USSR to hide information about Chernobyl. “Even today, cases of the high level of lead [in the blood] in western Georgia, in our opinion, maybe the result of the Chernobyl disaster”. Read more… Source:idfi.ge

Tbilisi. European union in Georgia publishes an information you need to know about vaccination in the time of COVID-19. „It could be a friend, a loved one, a colleague or a neighbour. We all know someone who is strongly opposed to vaccination and this fear is driven by belief in anti-vaccine conspiracies. The COVID-19 health crisis has provided ample opportunities for the spread of disinformation not only in Eastern Partner countries, but all over the world. Do you want to change your friends or relatives minds about vaccination? Read the cards and find out everything you need to know about vaccination in the time of COVID-19”. Read more… Source: www.euneighbours.eu

Tbilisi. April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day. According to information released by the Ombudsman, within the framework of celebration of this day in the current year, the United Nations focuses on a clearly visible inequality in the world in the conditions of the pandemic, which has a negative impact also on people with autism. “On the background of the situation entailed by the corona virus, people with autism, living in Georgia, faced a number of challenges. It became even more complicated to exercise their rights properly. The state still does not provide these people with programs tailored to their individual needs. It is problematic to access health care facilities and services, as well as non-adapted medical services. The challenge is the difficulty of communication with medical staff. There are no social or psychological support measures for people with autism and their families”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. The Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) releases a petition to prevent the third lockdown. “We, signatories of the appeal, share recommendations that have been provided by professionals, united on the healthcare platform at the Economic Policy Research Center, and sent to the government on a regular basis. At the same time, at this stage, we consider it urgent to have the government: Launch a large-scale and diverse target groups oriented, systematic and intensive information campaign highlighting the risk of COVID-19 infection and the necessity of response actions (wearing a facemask, social distancing). Provide evidence based justification of the impact of current regulations on control of spread of infection and ensure consistent enforcement of existing regulations that have an essential importance in order to prevent spread of infection. The petition is open and can be signed by anyone”. Read more... Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. FactCheck releases information regarding a post about the Pfizer vaccine published on a social network. “On February 26, 2021, a Facebook user published a post with an audio recording. The audio recording was accompanied by a Russian inscription - Cрочно !! Всем Услышать !!! (Urgent !! Everyone must listen !!!). There is a woman, speaking in the record, who introduces herself as Yulia Gaponyuk and says that she is a general practitioner. The doctor talks about Pfizer vaccine and human infection after vaccination in Israel. The information spread on the Internet in the form of an audio recording does not correspond to the truth and is a false story”, - is stated by FactCheck. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. On March 29, 2021, Nino Lomjaria, Public Defender of Georgia, got vaccinated with AstraZeneca vaccine at Academician Nikoloz Kipshidze University Clinic (Republican Hospital).  The Public Defender spoke about the importance of vaccination to eradicate the pandemic, especially emphasizing the commitment of officials to set an example for the population. The Public Defender noted that despite the widespread belief, the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine has been confirmed by the relevant organizations. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Human Rights Center has been implementing a “Mitigate impact of the pandemic for lonely elderly people in Shida Kartli” project since January 20, 2021. Within the framework of the project, volunteers interviewed more than 100 lonely/living alone elderly people in all four municipalities (Gori, Khashuri, Kareli, Kaspi) via direct visit. According to statements of the vast majority of them, they do not benefit from the state program for provision of medicines for treatment of chronic diseases, even though the program envisages provision of medicines for treatment of chronic cardiovascular diseases, chronic lung diseases, diabetes (type II), thyroid diseases, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. On February 22-25, 2021, the Public Defender’s Office monitored 21 public schools of Tbilisi,[1] in order to check the readiness of educational institutions for the educational process in the context of the pandemic and to identify the safety needs. “The monitoring revealed a lot of challenges, the prevention and elimination of which is important for ensuring the safety of the educational process. It should be noted that the inspected schools largely meet the necessary conditions for the virus prevention, however, some problems were identified with sanitation-hygiene, infrastructure, access to drinking water, toilet arrangement and distance protection. In some of the inspected schools it is necessary to put the sanitary system and infrastructure in order so that to make it possible to properly observe the hygienic norms”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) interviewed one of the miners employed at the Tkibuli mine in regard to hard working conditions in mines. ”Today, main concern of Tkibuli miners is lack of assurance that they will return safe and healthy back home after they go out. Security is a major challenge. There is not much difference compared to previous periods. No fundamental changes have been made to eliminate causes of numerous tragic accidents. The only thing the new company has come up with is to install gas appliances and evacuate people when the “lava” explodes. Nothing is changed in terms of both coal mining and processing. The problem that leads to so many tragic cases is extraction of coal through a “camera” system”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender is alarmed by the data of the National Center for Disease Control, according to which, the rate of wearing a mask has decreased from 75% to 43% in the country. In view of all the above, the Public Defender calls on: The State and local self-government bodies: To ensure effective and real control over the implementation of the novel coronavirus restrictions across the country;  The population of Georgia: To fully comply with quarantine and self-isolation requirements and recommendations as the only and most effective way today to protect our own and others’ right to health and life - proper use of masks, including in open spaces, observation of hygiene rules and social distancing; Media outlets: To the extent possible, to systematically disseminate information and inform the population about the importance of preventive measures - proper use of a mask and observation of social distancing. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. In the context of the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus in Georgia, members of the Special Preventive Group of the Public Defender studied the epidemiological situation and protection of patients' rights at Tbilisi Mental Health Center. “The monitoring showed that patients at Tbilisi Mental Health Center are not protected from violence, inhuman or degrading treatment. They are not provided with psycho-social rehabilitation services, while the infrastructure fails to ensure the protection of their dignity. The Public Defender calls on the State to respond to the acute problems at the facility in a timely manner”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. According to information released by the Coalition for Independent Living, from January 11, mobile support groups have resumed their work in Adjara, Guria and Samegrelo regions using adapted vehicles to provide free services to people with disabilities. Mobile groups consist of: mobility assistant, nurse, physical and occupational therapists. Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. The Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia and the Aures Foundation release a statement in regard to necessity of adjustment of facemask wearing rules. Organizations describe a problem that was faced by people with special needs (disabled, hearing-impaired child/person, elderly person, person with autism spectrum disorder, etc.) during the pandemic. It is critically important for them to see facial expression and mouth movement, while wearing a non-transparent facemask has made it impossible. CSOs demand to adjust facemask wearing rules to solve the problem. Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. According to information released by Transparency International Georgia, on January 20 of the current year, the Ministry of Health deactivated the Stop Covid mobile application that was created to fight against the coronavirus pandemic. “Creation of the application, which was activated 9 months earlier, on April 16, cost more than GEL 400,000 (EUR 120,000). The Ministry has not yet provided an explanation as to why this costly project ended unsuccessfully”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The European Union and WHO join forces to support Georgian and 5 other Eastern Partnership countries to preparing for, deploying and monitoring rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. The initiative will help Georgia ensure that when the vaccines arrive, they are well utilized and reach those that need them most. Read more… Source: The EU’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. A joint project of the Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia and the Aure Foundation – “Transparent screen facemask for human rights” aims to facilitate increase of degree of social integration of people with hearing impairments. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, use of anti-virus facemasks created communication barriers to millions of people with hearing impairments around the world. Facemask makes it impossible to see facial expressions and lips, which is an important reference point for people with hearing difficulties while communicating. There are more than 200 000 people with hearing impairments in Georgia”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. An organization “Partnership for Human Rights” (PHR) appealed to the Tbilisi City Court against the Ministry of Education demanding to urge the Ministry to develop an effective plan and implement it in order to ensure that children with disabilities and special educational needs have their rights to life, health, safety, and education protected upon returning to school on February 15. “There is increased danger that students with disabilities and special educational needs may have their rights to life, health, education and safety violated due to unorganized and threatening return to schools on February 15, 2021. We consider that passivity of the Ministry of Education cannot be replaced with just recommendations of the Ministry of Health. While at this stage, current state of schools does not allow them to manage the pandemic effectively due to different financial and human resources”. Read more… Source: phr.ge

Imereti. Due to the information of USAID Georgia Nino Gudadze, Mariam Eziashvili, and Nato Parkosadze are in their second year of high school in the village of Koreli in Imereti. They are also active participants in the school civics club supported by “Momavlis Taoba” (“Future Generation”), a nationwide civics education program funded by USAID. In addition to learning about civics in the classroom, they carry out their own civic activities in the community, including helping their neighbors get through the COVID-19 pandemic. When the pandemic hit their village, Nino, Mariam, and Nato realized that many residents of the village could not afford to buy face masks and were not able to protect themselves. They decided to take the matter into their own hands and help vulnerable families. They brought the issue to the local self-governing body, asked for information about how to help the vulnerable families in the village, and managed to obtain the necessary amount of face masks to distribute to local residents. The students provided 11 families with a total of 250 face masks. They also carry out informative meetings for the village youths about dealing with Covid 19 pandemic. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Shida Kartli. On February 2, 2021, the management of Caritas Georgia Health Care Program had a meeting with representatives of Gori Home Care team for consideration of the objectives of the new phase of the Home Care project. Participants of the meeting discussed the objectives of the project and technical issues related to its implementation. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network