Tbilisi. Parents of children with disabilities play many roles in a child’s life. To function effectively in all of these roles, parents need help, and a place to talk to others who have similar life experiences. With this in mind, MAC Georgia and მშობლის სკივრი • Mshoblis Skivri are creating a new kind of ‘community’ for parents of children with cerebral palsy.  The parent’s community group will meet online one evening every two weeks and will consist of a small number of parents with the goal of sharing experiences and information and supporting one another in everyday challenges. The group is only open to parents who have a child with cerebral palsy. If you are a parent of a person with cerebral palsy, have access on the internet and time to join once every two weeks, please follow the link and register… The deadline is May 18. We hope to begin our first group meeting before the end of May 2021. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Due to the information of the Rights Georgia, according to the amendments to the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons, the following regulations apply to asylum seekers from 12 May 2021. In particular, For the purposes of issuing a residence permit in Georgia, an asylum seeker will not be considered a person legally residing in Georgia; Asylum seekers are not entitled to apply for a residence permit based on their identification documents; Asylum seekers are restricted to apply for a residence permit while their application for international protection is under examination. Read more… Source: The web page of the organization on the social network

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information and the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association respond to the fact that in the second quarter of 2021, the two most important policy documents - the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan and the Public Administration Reform Action Plan have not yet been developed. IDFI and GYLA call on the Government to pay more attention to the public administration reform and fight against corruption in the country, take into account challenges identified in these areas, and develop ambitious and effective policy documents in a timely manner. Read more... Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. UN Women has analyzed gender and disability related data, existing in Georgia, and developed recommendations for their improvement. “The document contains a recommended minimum set of gender and disability indicators, which can be used, on the one hand, for monitoring of implementation of international and national commitments in the field of gender equality and inclusion of people with disabilities, and, on the other hand, for policy and program planning, monitoring and evaluation by governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations. Besides indicators, the document outlines actions to improve access to quality data on policy planning taking into account gender and disability related needs in Georgia”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: georgia.unwomen.org

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.” Read more… 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”.  Read more… Source: phr.ge

Tbilisi. On 4 May, within the framework of the 54th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and as part of the Civil Society Program IDFI led a panel discussion Advancing the Progress toward Achieving the SDGs Post-Covid-19. “The topic of the panel discussion directly related to ADB’s Operational Priority 6 - Strengthening governance and institutional capacity, as participants discussed the process of institutionalizing SDGs, the mandates and resources of relevant state institutions and needs for further development”. Learn more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Due to the information of the IDFI from May 1st, citizens can submit a written petition to the Chairperson of the Supreme Council. “At least 200 people are required for submitting the petition. Petitions are important for supporting the engagement of the citizens in the decision-making process and the implementation of the open governance principles. Submission of the Petitions was introduced to the Supreme Council of Ajara within the scopes of the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) project - "Consolidating Parliamentary Democracy in Georgia." The project is closely cooperating with the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) to promote Open Governance Principles in the work of the Parliament of Georgia and the Supreme Council of Ajara (SCA)”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Women’s Movement and organizations, working on human rights, respond to information spread on a social network in regard to unbearable working conditions of Georgian models and express their solidarity with all people employed in this field. “Unfortunately, systemic violation and neglect of labor rights still remain the biggest challenge in the country, and the fashion industry is no exception. Although modeling is a standard labor activity, which implies full appliance of labor legislation to this category of employees, it is a fact that models in Georgia do not enjoy even basic labor rights: most of them do not have an employment contract and work with an irregular work schedule in exchange for an inadequate remuneration, while in some cases - without any compensation. ...We consider that it requires a systemic approach by the state to ensure protection of labor rights of those employed in the fashion industry. It is necessary to study this issue in depth and ensure strict supervision of implementation of labor legislation in the field”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more... Source: The website of Women’s Movement on a social network

Tbilisi. According to information released by Tolerance and Diversity Institute (TDI), from May 12, 2021, amendments to the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons are going to enter into force. “Changes also apply to terms of validity of residence permits; Regulations in regard to postponement of the obligation to leave Georgia have also been tightened; It is noteworthy that residence permit procedures become more and more stringent from year to year; It has been quite problematic for foreigners from countries of African and Asian regions to obtain a residence permit even until to date due to unreasonable denials they get, non-transparent procedures for revision of applications and, in many cases, blanket referral to reasons of state security;  This next wave of legislative changes is mainly aimed at creating even more obstacles for representatives of this specific region”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: tdi.ge

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

The web portal CsoGeorgia.org releases a weekly newsletter of grants competition, contests, vacancies, fellowships, and tenders for civil society organizations, and for any interested person. Newsletter...

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. On 25th of May Business and Technology University (BTU) will host a virtual employment forum – FEMTECH. “Forum aims to provide employment opportunities to women and girls, who have graduated BTU Coding School. In this way the University tries to support the graduates with employment opportunities in ICT sector. BTU is one of the signatories of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and has already launched a number of interesting initiatives to empower women and girls”. Read more… To register for the forum, please visit the following link… Source: UN Women Georgia’s page on the social network

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”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Samegrelo. Transparency International Georgia won 29 cases in 2020 within the framework of free legal assistance. This time, Ineza Kvitatiani, a citizen, registered a 3,504 square-meter plot of land in the Ingiri village of Zugdidi with the support of lawyers of the organization. Read more… Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. Public Defender releases the statement on violence against the Mtavari TV’s journalists. “According to the reports spread on May 4, 2021, during the preparation of a TV story on the territory of the Davit-Gareji monastery complex, journalists of the Mtavari TV company were abused by the clergy and other persons. According to the journalists, their equipment was also damaged. The Public Defender’s Office condemns all forms of violence against representative of the media and emphasizes the vital role of a free and critical media environment for a democratic society, as well as its special role in promoting the respect for the rule of law and human rights in the country". Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. On April 22, 2021, the European Court satisfied a complaint of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) in the case of “Kalandia v. Georgia” and found a violation of Article 6 (1) (the right to a fair trial) of the European Convention. “The case of Kalandia is one of the cases within current legal proceedings of GYLA, which deal with persecution of people on the ground of political motivation, and, in its essence, is similar to the two cases won by GYLA in the European Court – “Tlashadze and Kakashvili v. Georgia” and “Megrelishvili v. Georgia”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Last week, the Rondeli Foundation and OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities successfully completed the second part of the training course "Enhancing National Minority Agenda". “Within the framework of the program cohort of national minorities of Georgia gained theoretical and practical knowledge on policy analysis, advocacy and lobbying, women's participation, research methods, and disinformation. Participants also met with the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia representatives, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Central Election Commission, and the OSCE HCNM”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) publishes a report: “Propaganda narratives on Facebook during the 2020 parliamentary elections”... “The report contains a review of an activity revealed on the basis of a study of Facebook sites spreading propaganda narratives on issues related to values and outlines both quantitative and qualitative findings. The report also includes a review of coordination of sites with election subjects, as well as an analysis of messages of sites disseminating propaganda narratives in line with political discourse and electoral processes”. Read more… Source: isfed.ge

Tbilisi. Visit the link to get familiarized with the Final Report on Social Media Monitoring for the 2020 Parliamentary Elections prepared by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED). “The report contains an analysis of main trends that took place in the social media space in Georgia from September 1 through November 21, 2020. In particular, it provides description of activities of official sites of political parties and candidates, registered in the elections, those of official sites of local self-government bodies, as well as results of observation on unofficial, anonymous sites, operating with political purposes, and other important trends aimed at influencing the will of voters in one way or another. Read more... Source: www.isfed.ge

Tbilisi. Fair Labor Platform releases a statement in regard to International Workers’ Day. "In Georgia, one part of workers meets May 1 jobless, while another part is in dangerous working conditions. The multifaceted and pervasive crisis, occurred as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic, is a proof that the current political and economic system fails to provide a sustainable, fair and secure daily life for workers and their families. The crisis confirms that there is also necessity of fundamental changes and fight for them”, - is noted in the joint statement.  Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge