Imereti. On May 13, a representative of the Kutaisi branch of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association visited the village of Shukruti in Chiatura Municipality, where local population have been protesting for 87 days against irreversible damage that mining activities of the company “Georgian Manganese” cause to the natural and social environment of the village. “During this time, three locals have exercised an extreme form of protest and sewn their mouths shut due to neglect of demands of participants of the action by both the state and mentioned company. According to explanation of residents of Shukruti, the environment has been polluted irreversibly as a result of activities of the company “Georgian Manganese”. Living in the village has become dangerous for locals, as their houses have turned uninhabitable due to damage caused by activities of the company, besides, they cannot use plots of land under their possession for agricultural purposes any longer, thus remaining without income”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

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

Tbilisi. On May 13, there was conducted a working meeting, organized by the Women's Information Center and aimed to present a working draft of an alternative report on implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) as well as to reflect recommendations. “The report is prepared with the involvement of 18 non-governmental organizations and 3 networks, working in the field of gender equality and empowerment of women, and aims to provide the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women with alternative information about rights of women, as stipulated by the Convention, measures taken by the state and progress in Georgia”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more... Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Samtskhe-Javaxeti. UNICEF, with financial support from USAID/Georgia, organized another information session hosted by the representatives from National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, and the prominent health experts, for the Medical personnel in Akhalkalaki. COVID-19 and the immunization process in Georgia were discussed during the meeting. Read more…  Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Ozurgeti. According the information of the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information, in 2018, Article 17 of the updated Constitution of Georgia received a new amendment, according to which "everyone has the right to access the Internet and use the Internet freely". “As such, the amendment means that the state has a positive obligation to make the Internet widely available. IDFI actively advocated for this amendment to the Constitution of Georgia. Please find the overview of the implementation of the pilot project of the state program for broadband infrastructure development in Georgia”. Source: idfi.ge

On May 24th the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency are hosting a high-level virtual conversation on emergency measures, fundamental freedoms, and revitalizing civic space in the wake of COVID-19. Available in English, Spanish, Arabic, French, and Russian. Learn more and register at www.icnl.org

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...

Tbilisi. According to the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), an analysis of questions, posed in regard to the coronavirus pandemic, reveals that only a small number of MPs of the previous convocation have used the opportunity to ask a parliamentary question and thus exercise control. The organization anticipates that MPs of the new convocation will pay significant attention to the effective execution of parliamentary control and actively use all mechanisms available at their disposal, including the opportunity to pose parliamentary questions. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

UNICEF colleagues are getting COVID-19 vaccines under the national immunization plan. "Vaccination is the only way to defeat the pandemic and get back to normal life". Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to information released by the Council of Europe Office in Georgia, it was the 10th anniversary of the Istanbul Convention on May 11. Whom does the Istanbul Convention protect? “The Convention protects life; It brings hope and a sense of security to millions of women and girls. It makes violence against women public. It supports victims to talk, provides professionals with the opportunity to assist and gives girls and women confidence. It protects people from domestic violence, regardless of how the country legally defines family and marriage. It strengthens respect for women and facilitates equality of girls and women”. Read more... Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. According to the Gender Informational Portal, the Permanent Parliamentary Gender Equality Council has taken into account agreements and comments, made at the sitting, and approved the 2021 Action Plan, which outlines six areas of activities of the Council. In particular, Establish main directions of the gender policy of the state; Create and improve legal framework in the field of gender equality; Refine state mechanisms for gender equality; Strengthen the Parliamentary Gender Equality Council institutionally; Raise awareness on gender equality; Monitor implementation of the gender policy of the state. Read more... Source: ginsc.net

Tbilisi. Are you ready to challenge your knowledge?  Take this quiz and share your results with us in the comments…  Source: The EU’s page on the social network

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