Tbilisi. “Media Advocacy Coalition” responds to information released on March 11, 2021, according to which the court authorized the Prosecutor’s Office to seize materials from “TV Pirveli”.  The relevant ruling has already been received by the TV Company. “It is important to note that according to Article 50 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia, a journalist cannot act as a witness in regard to information obtained within the framework of his/her professional activity.  Respectively, any move to influence journalists can be perceived as an attempt to disclose a source of information. In our opinion, conducting an investigation with the focus on this method poses a danger that media may once again become a target of political retaliation. “We continue to urge international partners to pay special attention to the campaign carried out against media in Georgia, which, unfortunately, is encouraged by state institutions and high-ranking officials”, - is noted in the statement of the coalition. Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

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. HumanDoc Foundation, in collaboration with partner organizations: “Kartlosi” – Bridge of Friendship, Association “Merkuri” and Cultural-Humanitarian Fund “Sukhumi”, has released a publication: “Guide for teachers on violence against children”. An electronic version of the publication is available here... Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. The Tbilisi office of the South Caucasus Regional Bureau of the Heinrich Boell Foundation presents an article by Lika Jalagania on voice of women and power of listener. “The collective violence, committed against Nini in Kobuleti, should certainly be pointing out the problem of survival discourse. If we survive a man, there will always appear someone and something condemning our being a victim due to their insistence to stay safe. However, our survival will cause disappointment if we do not follow rules of a proposed game. The family of Nini survived through “atonement of guilt” because what we are demanded to do is to demonstrate weakness – be a passive victim who bases “lost dignity” self-description on infallible evidences of sacred victimhood”. Read more… Source:feminism-boell.org

To start your own business is not always easy. Especially if it is your duty to take care of home, children and parents, if nobody supports you, and it is often unclear where to start doing things from. There are quite a lot of international programs that help women start their own business, acquire an education and protect their own economic rights. How to find out about all this? It is often difficult to find the information you need. The EU Eastern Neighborhood program combines all ongoing EU projects that help women develop their business.

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 10, 2021, the Public Defender’s Office, in cooperation with UN Women and with the support of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held an online presentation assessing Georgia's international obligations relating to gender mainstreaming and presented a study conducted by the Public Defender’s Office. “The study made it clear that despite the progress made in recent years in the direction of gender equality, the country's gender policy fails to increase women's political participation or coordinate the work of state agencies in response to violence against women and domestic violence, or to prevent the cases of femicide. Implementing and monitoring gender mainstreaming in national policy and budgeting also remains a problem”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Georgian Civil Society Organizations are reacting to the audio recording broadcast on TV Pirveli • ტელეკომპანია პირველი, the alleged participants of which are, the incumbent Prime Minister, the head of the Special State Protection Service, and Bera Ivanishvili. “We call on the Parliament of Georgia to use the tools afforded to it by the Constitution of Georgia and the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament and to demand clarifications from the Prime Minister. The disseminated record and the alleged participation of the Prime Minister in it should be the subject of parliamentary discussions. We call on law enforcement agencies to take an appropriate expert and/or other investigative measures to verify the authenticity of the record. To ensure public trust, this process must be conducted in a timely, efficient, and transparent manner. The involvement of independent observers/experts in the process must be ensured. All necessary measures must be taken to increase the credibility of the investigation”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes a study: Challenges of an HR and payroll policy at state-owned companies. According to results of the study, the organization concludes that “Heads of state-owned companies are distinguished by having high labor remuneration, regardless financial consequences of their company. Besides, IDFI considers that summarized data of labor remuneration and declared incomes of executives reflected in financial statements do not completely appraise scales of payroll policy related challenges existing at state-owned companies and their negative impact on financial consequences of companies". Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Civil society representatives would like to respond to the resumption of the dialogue between political parties and welcome the active role which our European partners have played in this process. An agreement based on the six points proposed through the mediation of European Council President Charles Michel would help us overcome the crisis. “We believe that the current political crisis can be resolved through concrete steps designed to defuse the current situation and implement institutional reforms for the country’s democratic development. We believe that a number of important steps have to be taken to resolve the crisis: In order to defuse the situation, restore trust, and create an environment conducive to negotiation opposition party leader Nika Melia and Giorgi Rurua, a shareholder in a TV station whose editorial policy has been critical toward the government, must be released from custody; A genuine electoral reform must be implemented; The Parliament’s oversight role must be strengthened and the opposition must be given certain levers of influence over the political process; Steps Must be taken toward the justice system’s independence; An effective anti-corruption reform must be implemented”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. With the financial support of the European Union (EU), Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) is implementing the project “Monitoring Covid-19 related public spending and human rights protection during the state of emergency and after". "The initiative is contributing to increasing government accountability regarding Covid-19-related public spending, implementation of the Government Anti-Crisis Plan, spending of StopCov Fund, and allocation of donor support.  This document is an interim report that includes an overview of activities carried out through March-December 2020, monitoring results, and recommendations”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On February 11, 2021, the Constitutional Court took a decision in regard to the constitutionality of restrictions imposed during the pandemic. The Constitutional Court considered arguments of plaintiffs unsubstantiated and did not satisfy their constitutional claims. EMC critically appraises this decision and provides an overview of those main problematic aspects that, in the opinion of the organization, are contrary to the fundamental principles of the Constitution of Georgia. Read more… Source:emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. On March 5, 2021, the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) applied to the Administrative Cases Panel at the Tbilisi City Court with a request to abolish the curfew. “It has been more than 3 months that the curfew is in effect on the entire territory of Georgia in a continuous mode and with the same strictness. While in the 7 largest cities of the state, duration of the curfew exceeds 4 months”. The organization considers that the Government of Georgia restricts freedom of movement disproportionately, which contradicts requirements of Paragraph 3 under Article 453 of the Law of Georgia on Public Health. IDFI will apply to the Constitutional Court with the same issue in the near future. Read more... Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Over the next month, USAID Georgia will share the stories of women who are breaking down barriers in Georgian society. If you live in Tbilisi, be sure to visit our photo installation at the entrance to Vake Park. You can see the portraits of women who are smashing stereotypes and voice your own opinion on women’s empowerment. When you visit, post a photo with the installation and tag the women who have inspired you! And remember to use the campaign hashtag: #SmashingStereotypes. You can also visit photo installations in Batumi, Kutaisi, and Telavi".  Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. The Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes an article by Giga Karapetyan and Ani Gogberashvili: “Women street traders and the pandemic: Fighting for daily needs”. "In this context, our research article is an attempt to analyze social and economic dimensions of street trading straight from the perspective of women street traders. For the article, we conducted ten interviews with women street traders self-employed in Gori and Tbilisi. Most of them are pensioners and are considered to be the main breadwinners in their families”, - is stated in the article. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association publishes an appraisal in regard to women rights related situation. “March 8, International Women’s Day, has been a date to mark fight for equality of women for years. In a patriarchal society, women and girls appear in an unequal position, gender-based violence takes place more frequently, work of women is underestimated, while the role of a woman is diminished. To fulfil its commitments, made upon ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the so-called Istanbul Convention), Georgia has taken various measures in recent years so as to ensure equality of women and protect them from violence. Despite taken steps forward, the issue of gender equality still remains a problem and requires to have the state work on many aspects”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Civil society organizations and civil movements demand from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara to stop construction of a 19-storey hotel complex on Batumi Boulevard immediately. “A permit for construction of a 19-storey (3 underground) hotel on Batumi Boulevard, which has the status of a garden-park cultural heritage monument, was issued to a company “Ambassador Batumi” on January 21 by the Adjara Cultural Heritage Protection Agency disregarding cultural heritage legislation and neglecting public interests towards the boulevard”. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) and Green Alternative submit an appeal to the Tbilisi City Court to defend interests of local population and demand suspension of enforcement of the order of the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, based on which a positive environmental decision on the cascade of Namakhvani HPPs was issued. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association publishes a document, which contains a study of measures taken by the state in the circumstances of the pandemic, international recommendations elaborated in this regard, best practices of other countries. In the document, there are also identified challenges that are faced by people with disabilities. “While working on the document, there have been conducted interviews with people with disabilities, parents of children with disabilities, staff of day care centers and organizations protecting interests of the disability community. Eventually, within the framework of the report, there were analyzed effectiveness of measures, taken by the state to apply rights of people with disabilities, and their compliance with international recommendations”. Read more… Discussion record… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. On March 4, 2021, IDFI presented the study “Challenges of Whistleblowing in Georgia – Legislation and Practice”. The aim of the research is to determine the reason for the low number of cases of whistleblowing in Georgian public institutions, to identify gaps, and to elaborate specific recommendations for their elimination through the analysis of the legislation and study of the practice.  The full study and key findings can be found here... Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. #ReturnMySurname is a civic campaign, within the framework of which Azerbaijani activists demand to have Russian ending of their surnames changed to Azerbaijani. “We are people who always carry an ID card with us. It is a document, which demonstrates our state identity on the one hand, however, when looking into our own ID card, it also reminds us about occupation of our country and surnames. This is what often makes us angry, irritates, hearts”. The campaign is organized by a “Salam” platform with the support of EWMI ACCESS. Read more… Source: The website of the “Salam” Platform in a social network

Tbilisi. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary expresses its concern in regard to a decision taken by the Tbilisi Court of Appeals against Transparency International Georgia.  Tthe court considered opinions indicated by the organization in the study as defamatory. “We would like to emphasize that in case if this decision remains in force, there will be endangered the freedom of speech and expression as well as fundamental principles of activities of organizations protecting human rights in the country”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge