Tbilisi. Under the leadership of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, 9 civil society organizations regularly evaluate the state of fulfillment of 12 priorities defined by the EU. “The fifth edition of their assessment document – EU CANDIDACY CHECK reflects the progress achieved by the Georgian authorities in this context until the period of August 1, 2023, as well as the current state of play and the steps to be implemented in the future by the authorities so that Georgia gets the EU Candidacy Status. According to CSOs’ assessments, at this stage, one priority is fully implemented, two priorities are mostly fulfilled, seven priorities are partially fulfilled, and two priorities (deoligarchisation and political polarization) defined by the European Union are to be fulfilled. The previous EU CANDIDACY CHECK documents have shown that civil society assessments are largely in line with the interim assessment presented by the EU on 22 June 2023. From June 20 to August 1, 2023, small progress has been made in terms of fulfilling the priorities such as media pluralism and involvement of CSOs in decision-making. In the first context, the President pardoned Nika Gvaramia, and on the other hand, the government considered certain recommendations of the civil society in the process of developing a number of draft laws”. Read more… Source: osgf.ge

Tbilisi. On July 21, 2023, at the Writers' House of Georgia, the Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) presented the updated website of "Stalin's Lists".  “”Stalin's Lists” include data, archival materials and photographs about the victims of the "Great Terror" of 1937-1938 in Georgia. The “Stalin's Lists” database combines information on 3616 persons who were tried directly by the decision of Stalin and other members of the Politburo. The platform allows interested people to find information about their ancestors who were victims of the repressions of 1937-1938”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Under the leadership of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, 8 civil society organizations presented the fourth edition of an assessment document – EU CANDIDACY CHECK, which reflects the progress achieved by the Georgian authorities in this context until the period of June 15, 2023, as well as the current state of play and the steps to be implemented in the future. “According to CSOs’ assessments, at this stage, one priority is fully implemented, two priorities are mostly fulfilled, five priorities are partially fulfilled, and four priorities defined by the European Union are to be fulfilled”. Read more… Source: osgf.ge

Tbilisi. On June 14, Civil Society Institute (SCI), in partnership with European Center for Non-for-Profit Law (ECNL) and Partners Georgia held a discussion meeting, which aimed at increasing the engagement of civil society and consolidation of CSOs’ visions around Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT). See more… Source: civilin.org

Tbilisi. GCSD launched a fantastic STEM Camp from May 24-27 at Buckswood School as part of SHE's GREAT project! Fifty enthusiastic participants from various public schools from Sachkere, Senaki, Zugdidi, Bolnisi, Marneuli, Tserovani, Akhatsikhe,  and Tbilisi joined this engaging event. They all share a strong interest in the fields of science and technology. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. June 9 is International Archives Day, established by the International Council on Archives (ICA). IDFI presents the archival documents collected by IDFI - the so-called “Stalin’s Lists”, based on which more than 3,600 people in Georgia were victims of repression. The majority of these people were convicted under the "first category" and sentenced to be shot, together with their property being confiscated. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. GDI publishes the special Report on SLAPP cases in Georgia. “Legal disputes initiated by high-ranking political officials, members of the Georgian Dream, and others related to them on the grounds of defamation have recently become one of the tools for the restriction of media freedom. According to the observation of Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI), in 2021-2023, the so-called attacks against critical media and human rights defenders initiated and significantly increased the tendency to address the Courts with SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) lawsuits. A SLAPP represents an apparently groundless defamation lawsuit initiated by politically or financially influential entities/individuals. The aim of these lawsuits is not to protect honor, dignity, or company reputation but to silence publicly active citizens and create financial barriers for them. However, SLAPPs also have a “chilling effect” beyond individual cases, undermining the development of a healthy and pluralistic environment where citizens can exercise civil initiatives”. Read more… Source: gdi.ge

Tbilisi. Ahead of World Environment Day, UNDP’s new research sheds light on environmental education and awareness in Georgia. 9 out of 10 respondents feel the negative impact of Climate Change. 91% of respondents believe that water pollution should be punishable by the law. 90% recognize the importance of waste separation practices. Read more... Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information shares the survey: Analysis of Overall Statistical Data on General Courts of Georgia 2010-2022”. “The analysis of the overall statistical data received from the Supreme Court of Georgia shows that in 2022, compared to the previous year, the number of appeals to the court for all three categories of cases has increased. The highest rate of criminal cases filed since 2010 was recorded in 2022, which can to some extent be attributed to the deterioration of the criminogenic environment in the country. It is worth noting that the share of acquittals in criminal cases has significantly increased in the last 5 years, which on the one hand may be due to the raising of the standard of evidence required by the court to prove guilt, and on the other hand to the increase in the number of criminal cases conducted by investigative agencies in an unqualified manner”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes the Newsletter for quarterly political donations. “From January 1 up to March 31, 2023, all the parties have received donations of GEL 640,569 in total. Almost half of this amount – GEL 300,000 – went to the ruling party, Lelo for Georgia ranked second with GEL 201,000, and European Georgia – Movement for Liberty ranked third with GEL 84,299”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. A new nationwide poll conducted in Georgia by the International Republican Institute’s (IRI) Center for Insights in Survey Research (CISR) shows strong support for EU membership, disapproval of Russian citizens within the country, and a lack of faith in political parties. “Taking into account both the low public trust in political parties, as well as the high desire for youth in political leadership, IRI is pleased to continue its work supporting multi-party democracy in Georgia – that is, the ruling party, opposition and emerging movements – in order to ensure that citizens have a diverse range of political options available both in governance and at the ballot box. This survey was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Child benefits support children in need, though 38% of children in Georgia are affected by material and social deprivations, reveals the Child Welfare Survey conducted by the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) with support from UNICEF.  The purpose of the survey was to measure children’s welfare in several core domains, including access to education, healthcare and social assistance, nutrition during school hours, safety at home, material and social deprivation, functional difficulties and stigma associated with disability. Find out more… The survey is available here… Source: www.unicef.org

Tbilisi. According to the new report of UNICEF, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Romania, and Ukraine have among the highest rates of under-vaccinated children. “Nearly one million children across Europe and Central Asia missed one or several routine vaccinations since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic”. Read more… Source: www.unicef.org

On March 17-19, 2023, Anton Vatcharadze, Memory and Disinformation studies direction head at the Institute for Development of Freedom of information attended the “On the Bridge of Memory” conference organized by Esimde, an international memory research organization, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The conference centered around two core themes: memory and decolonization. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Estonia. From February 8th to 11th, IDFI joined the international conference “Necropolis of Communist Terror” in Tallinn, organized by the Institute of Historical Memory of Estonia and the “Saint Petersburg Memorial Research and Information Centre/Joffe Foundation”. During the conference, attendees had the opportunity to tour the Memorial Museum of Victims of Communism and pay their respects at the Memorial of Estonian Victims of Communism. Learn more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. IDFI's report assesses the proactive access of public information in Georgia as of November-December 2022 and outlines the main trends and tendencies of proactive access to information compared to previous years. The report also includes proactive transparency ratings of public institutions. In 2022, the average compliance rate of proactive accessibility of public information is 60%, 4% higher than in 2021 and it 11% lower compared to the same indicator from 2014; In 2022, only three public institutions (Financial-Analytical Service, National Statistics Service, and the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement) had fully (100%) published information in compliance with the requirements of the relevant legal act; Among central public institutions, the lowest compliance was demonstrated by the Administration of the Government (34%), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (35%), and the Office of the State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civic Equality (30%). The publication of the information related to the management of finances remains the most problematic topic in this regard; Source: idfi.ge

Adjara. More than 20 historians from the region and European countries visited the site of the mass shooting of the Great Terror of 1937-1938 found near Batumi. After that, the participants moved to the monastery of the diocese of Batumi and Lazeti and got acquainted with the remains preserved after the exhumation. The visits were organized by the IDFI. The visits were organized with the financial support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information publishes the research: Access to Public Information by the Media: Legislation v. Reality. “It was revealed during the course of the project that there are practical-normative problems of a systemic nature in terms of obtaining information on issues of interest to the media. Ignoring both formal and material requirements of the legislation regulating freedom of information is a regular occurrence. The number of public institutions that attempt to comply with the requirements of the legislation as much as possible is exceptionally low. There is about a 12% probability that information on issues of interest to the media will be provided fully and within the timeframe stipulated in the law. The degree of arbitrariness in public institutions is high. This may be due to the lack of effective judicial or external administrative control. In some cases, it appears that complete ignorance of public information requests is a proven practice of a public institution. The effectiveness of judicial oversight is significantly reduced by the length of timeframes stipulated by law for the consideration of a case, as well as by the courts’ disregard of these terms. The systemic problems discussed above essentially worsen the quality of access to public information on matters of media interest. On a practical level, there is no expectation that the media will be able to obtain information on an issue of its interest within the timeframe stipulated by the law. The cases of compliance with the requirements of the legislation regulating freedom of information by a public institution are exceptional”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On September 12, 2022 IDFI requested public information from the Georgian National Communications Commission (“Communications Commission” or “Commission”) about the addresses to block internet pages sent to internet-providers from 2017 up to date. The analysis covers the period from 2017 to September 26, 2022. “In this period the Commission sent 65 addresses to providers. Overall, 480 websites were requested to be blocked. Excluding the websites that could not be checked for one reason or another, the actual rate of website blocking under the Commission’s authority is 55%. Such a rate and the number of cases of avoidance could put the enforcement of this authority of the Commission under question. On the systematic level it does not appear that the Commission abuses procedural/material shortcomings of the website blocking mechanism. However, there are number of shortcomings, mostly procedural, which show that the current mechanism of website blocking has significant potential of misuse against the freedom of expression”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Adjara. Transparency International Georgia examined asset declarations of the Government and Members of the Supreme Council of Adjara public officials submitted in 2021-2022 and identified inaccuracies in 39% of declarations. 24 out of 62 public officials in the office inaccurately submitted asset declarations. 12 officials did not indicate real estate in the declaration owned by him/her and/or his/her family member. 12 officials did not declare their own and/or family members’ business interests – being a shareholder and director of a company. 11 public officials did not delegate the right to manage shares in the private companies to other persons. 4 public officials did not disclose received remuneration during their tenure. 3 public officials received income from activities restricted by the law. 2 public officials - members of the Supreme Council, Ilia Verdzadze and Fridon Putkaradze took into consideration inaccuracies indicated in our 2019 research, however, the Chairman of the Government Tornike Rizhvadze ignored violations in his asset declaration identified in our 2020 research. Hence, Transparency International Georgia calls on Civil Service Bureau to examine asset declarations of the persons named in the study and respond to the identified issues in a timely and comprehensive manner. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. On October 10, 2022, The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) acquainted Erasmus+ financed study visit participants with the work and achievements of the Memory and Disinformation Studies Direction. The organizer of this event was a non-governmental organization “Gergarti”. "During the study visit, participants met with those organizations and individuals who work on reevaluating the Soviet past. They got acquainted with their research and expressed a wish to apply new knowledge and experience to their future work". Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Regions. On September 29-30, 2022, the Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) in cooperation with the National Parliament Library of Georgia held a presentation on the issue of repressed people in Kaspi, Borjomi, and Gori and a screening of the film "Cemetery of the Shot in Batumi" shot by Radio Free Georgia/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). “Before the screening of the film, Anton Vatcharadze, the Memory and Disinformation Studies Direction Head of the Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), gave a presentation on the theme of the repressed and talked about the great terror that took place in Georgia in 1937-1938, introduced a different history from the mentioned era to the audience, and also drew attention to the specificity and significance of the discovery of mass graves. He discussed the history of the tombs discovered in Adjara, the work carried out together with the Eparchy of Batumi and Lazeti and the Institute of National Remembrance of Poland (IPN), steps taken, and future plans”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge