Tbilisi. The Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes a video story: Women’s work – indoor and outdoor. “Women in Georgia spend three times more time on family affairs than men. Nadi tradition is still preserved in Zemo Adjara. Mutual aid was initially based on the principle of voluntary assistance, without any obligations or remuneration. Women share work with each other for free”. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. According to the assessment of the Transparency International Georgia the pandemic has "naturally" reduced Georgia's economic dependence on Russia. After the end of the pandemic period, Georgia will have the opportunity to structurally transform its economy and become less dependent on Russia. “At present, the high dependence of wine exports on the Russian market and wheat imports from Russia remain the main challenges for Georgia's economic security. The goal of the Georgian government should be to minimize economic dependence on Russia. Therefore: In the post-pandemic period, Georgia should work even more actively to diversify its export markets, especially in terms of wine exports; Local production of wheat and diversification of wheat imports should be promoted as much as possible; Unlike previous years, after opening the borders, Russia should not be the target market for attracting tourists”.  Read more… Source: transparency.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...

Tbilisi. On March 17, “Rights Georgia” presented results of monitoring of activities carried out by an independent inspector and the High Council of Justice during disciplinary legal proceedings. “The study report, prepared as a result of the monitoring, contains a review of current legislation and practice in the field of disciplinary responsibility of judges, analysis of compliance of legislation and practice with international standards, as well as recommendations for elimination of shortcomings in the disciplinary system”. Read more… Source: rights.ge

Tbilisi. On March 15, society came to know through means of media that there was established a Scientific Advisory Council for National Minorities on the grounds of the Diaspora and Caucasus Issues Committee at the Parliament of Georgia. “We, the signatory organizations, generally welcome the idea of establishing an advisory mechanism for national minorities at the Parliament, however, it is categorically unacceptable for us to set up an advisory council for minorities on the grounds of the Diaspora and Caucasus Issues Committee, which strengthens an impression of connecting ethnic minorities with other countries and essentially damages, as well as pulls back the process of building an inclusive, equal and democratic society. CSOs call on the Parliament of Georgia to: Cancel its decision regarding establishment of the Advisory Council on Minority Issues on the grounds of the Diaspora and Caucasus Issues Committee in a timely manner; Plan the issue of a mandate, competencies and composition of the Advisory Council within the framework of the democratic consultations process, in which there will be involved representatives of communities of ethnic minorities, organizations, as well as other experts and human rights actors; Take into account international standards and requirements, set by the Council of Europe Advisory Committee, as well as best practices of other countries while setting up the Advisory Council”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes a concept of a reform of the judicial system developed by non-governmental organizations. “The purpose of the concept is to facilitate institutionalization of the judicial system, its liberation from informal influences, promotion of its internal democratic processes and establishment of highest standards”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. EWMI-PROLoG is appalled by the threats and abuse of women human rights defenders that has taken enormous scale in recent days. „Women activists have been particularly persistent and committed, despite often having it harder than their male counterparts. The bullying and threats that they get is further exacerbated by the gender-motivated and specific overtones. We have been supporting defenders of human rights, including the rights of women and children, for years, and we are very proud of the work and achievements of our partners over the years. We believe that this hard, tireless and often unappreciated work and dedication is what drives progress by way of restoring rights and dignity of those who have been wronged. We stand by the brilliant women lawyers of PHR, Sapari and other partner organizations and offer our support”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to information released by the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), on January 21, the European Court of Human Rights announced its decision in the case of Georgia v. Russia (II). The decision touches upon violations of human rights that took place during the August 2008 armed conflict between Russia and Georgia. “The purpose of this document is to briefly overview important legal aspects of the decision and provide society, as well as other stakeholders, with information about questions posed in regard to the content of the decision”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC), on behalf of the civil society organization Batomi, applied to the Public Defender requesting to study legality of a permit, issued for construction of a 19-storey hotel complex on Batumi Boulevard, and release a relevant recommendation. Batomi and EMC consider that the decision made by the Adjara Cultural Heritage Protection Agency (“Agency”) is unequivocally unlawful and irreversibly and substantially damages the immovable cultural heritage site - Batumi Boulevard. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) expresses its solidarity with women human rights defenders. “We would like to express our solidarity with women human rights defenders, who became targets of extraordinary aggression and attack after the victory gained by Nikoloz Basilashvili, a Georgian tennis player, in one of the tournaments. The fact was followed by a campaign of organized aggression on social media against both non-governmental organizations and human rights defenders, and it took place due to their public stance in regard to the case of domestic violence proceeded against the tennis player. Targeted attack, carried out on gender grounds against women human rights defenders indicates ingrained misogynistic attitudes within society and hinders the process of public disclosure of facts of violence”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source:isfed.ge

Tbilisi. On March 1, “Rights Georgia” has launched a new project - " Support Human Rights Defenders and Activists at Risk”. “The aim of the project is to provide legal assistance to human rights defenders / activists, to increase their safety and security guarantees and to raise awareness of legal issues that are relevant to their activities”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia and Fair Elections (ISFED) publish joint evaluations and recommendations in regard to amendments elaborated on the bases of a memorandum signed between political parties “Georgian Dream” and “Citizens” and meant to be made to the Election Code. “Besides, for election legislation and practice refinement purposes, there have been expressed opinions about solution of those problems, which had negative impact on an equal and free election environment during the entire election cycle. Attention is also paid to issues that are not addressed in the proposed draft legislative amendments, but are crucial in terms of improvement of an electoral environment and increase of credibility of election results in the country”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. An online training course has been developed on sexual and reproductive health and rights of women with psychosocial needs through cooperation between the Public Defender of Georgia, UNFPA Georgia Office and Tbilisi State Medical University. “The innovative course will help certified doctors working in the field of obstetrics-gynecology and psychiatry deepen their knowledge in the direction of health management of women with psychosocial needs, their rights and the commitments undertaken by the State”. Read more… Source: www.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 study revealed that there are significant challenges in terms of transparency of the judiciary. In particular:  "The Parliament has not yet adopted necessary legislative amendments for ensuring the accessibility of court decisions, which significantly undermines the rule of law in the country; Incomplete publication of public information by the courts and the High Council of Justice is problematic; There are some challenges related to the production and publication of statistics in the system of common courts, creating difficulties in terms of the accessibility of statistics". Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On March 12, the Goal.ge website disseminated information that Georgian NGOs, together with the Public Defender, demanded to disqualify Nikoloz Basilashvili from the Doha tournament. According to sources of Myth Detector, this information is unequivocally false. Read more… Source:www.mythdetector.ge

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes an analysis: Importance of a system of petitions for citizen participation: International examples and practice of Georgia. “It is important to keep the minimum margin, defined for collecting petitions, low at the initial stage so as to make sure that a comparatively high level of it does not have reverse effect and develop nihilistic mood within active citizens. Two aspects that have the utmost importance are accountability and transparency of public institutions, which imply proactive access to information on submitted, as well as addressed petitions, openness of the process of revision of successful petitions and substantiation of a final decision. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. “Rights Georgia” considers that the ruling of the Tbilisi City Court on seizure of the electronic data transfer device, delivered (sent) to “TV Pirveli” by a confidential source and mentioned in a Saturday Show of Nodar Meladze, contradicts legislation of Georgia and, respectively, Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Read more… Source: rights.ge

Tbilisi. Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI) responds to a March 9, 2021 ruling of the Tbilisi City Court, based on which there was issued a permission to carry out an investigative action – seizure aiming to obtain items transferred to “TV Pirveli” by a confidential source, while the Prosecutor’s Office was allowed to apply the proportional measure of coercion in case of resistance. “We consider that the recording, broadcasted by “TV Pirveli”, makes a significant contribution to the legitimate public debate that is particularly important for society, it is protected by freedom of speech and expression, while actions of the Prosecutor’s Office and the court ruling undermine the essence of media as a guardian of democracy as well as possibility of its free existence”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: gdi.ge

Tbilisi. Sector 3 would like to respond to a ruling by the Tbilisi City Court that allowed the prosecutor's office to remove materials provided by a confidential source to TV Pirveli using a proportionate coercion measure. “We believe that any step or action that creates the perception that freedom of speech and media independence are threatened must be taken with particular caution. We call on the authorities to act according to the law, be prudent, take into account the existing polarized environment, and be aware of the risks arising from the possible enforcement of the court order”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on a social network

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia considers that the court decision on the conduct of the measure of seizure at TV Pirveli is unsubstantiated and contradicts Georgian legislation and European human rights law. Ombudsman calls on the Prosecutor General's Office of Georgia not to take a step that would seriously undermine freedom of expression and journalistic activity. Read more… Source: www.ombudsman.ge