Tbilisi. In connection with the Personal Data Protection Day, the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information publishes an article, about the protection of personal data in Georgia in the conditions of e-government. “With the development of e-governance, the issue of personal data protection has become especially important. Given the modern technological progress, the widespread use of information and communication technologies poses new risks and threats to citizens”, - We read in the article, - “In Georgia issues related to the processing and protection of personal data are regulated by the Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection. This Law is intended to ensure the protection of human rights and freedoms, including the right to privacy, in the course of personal data processing”. Read more…  Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. As the pandemic pushes education, healthcare, and other public services online, putting huge amounts of personal data in the digital domain, the protection of citizens’ privacy assumes even greater importance. This was the main message of a public information campaign launched by Georgia’s State Inspector’s Service (SIS) to mark Data Protection Day, which culminated in an online conference on 28 January dedicated to the introduction of data protection into the higher education curriculum in Georgia.  Supported by the European Union (EU), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the week-long campaign engaged state agencies, civil society, schools, and citizens and covered a wide array of topics, from processing health-related information and using social media to launching new educational programs in data protection.  Read more…   Source: eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. Media Advocacy Coalition releases the next statement regarding “activities initiated by the Communications Commission aiming to regulate obscenity” and considers that the Commission acts against law. “An attempt of the commission to assume a function of a self-regulatory body and interfere in the content of a broadcaster is categorically unacceptable as it has no authority to do so. Allowing such a fact to take place will entail control of the content of media, which is the strictest form of restriction of freedom of speech. Bringing in a practice that is inconsistent with legislation and the Constitution of Georgia is a direct threat of censorship”, - is stated by the Coalition. Read more… Source: gyla.ge/ge

Tbilisi. Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP) organized the second online movie-discussion based on the 3 following documentary videos: “Right-wing populists and the EU” by Deutsche Welle (DW), “Georgia’s Rave Revolution” by BBC, and the media report by Radio Liberty titled “Should we are afraid of modern fascism?”. The aim of the discussion was to understand to what extent could journalists prepare objective and balanced content while broadcasting the narratives and actions of the far-right groups. Also, where is the line between balanced coverage and the encouragement of radical right-wing narratives. The event was part of the public discussion series “Analysing Illiberal Tendencies in Georgia”. The discussion series, which is financially supported by the Open Society Georgian Foundation (OSGF), aims at revealing the factors causing the emergence of far-right radicalization in Georgia. Read more…  Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. TI Georgia published Corruption Perceptions Index 2020 by that, as the organization said, the main problems of Georgia’s anti-corruption policy remain unresolved.  “Georgia has been assigned a score of 56 and shares 45th place with Poland and Saint Lucia in the 2020 edition of the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) which was published by the Transparency International Secretariat today and ranks 180 countries. In the ranking, 100 points indicate the lowest level of perceived corruption while 0 – its highest level”, - is mentioned in the information, TI spared. Read more…  Source: The web-page of the organization

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. International Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked on January 27. The purpose of marking this day is to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust, to think about the threat of anti-Semitism, and to reaffirm the importance of tolerance. On January 27, 2021, the Public Defender of Georgia, the Tolerance Center of the Public Defender, the Council of Europe Office in Georgia, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) organized an online meeting to discuss the historical path of the Holocaust and its consequences, to recall the interesting and important facts about the coexistence of the Jewish people and to talk about the possibility of condemning each expression of anti-Semitism. Read more…  Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. “Senior Generation Portal” - a special website with the name is going to start functioning on February 1. Taoba.org.ge covers all important issues that are of interest to the elderly.  A page “Taoba - Home for the Elderly” has already been created on Facebook, a social network, where the population of retirement age will be able to access a variety of information they are interested in. Information will be available in text, audio, and video formats, besides, there will be a possibility to ask questions and receive answers.  The first web portal for senior generation citizens in Georgia has been created with the funding of the Center for Training and Consultancy as well as with the support of Bread for the World.  Read more…  Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. In 2019, following the initiative of the members of the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament of Georgia, and with the support of USAID-PROLoG, the Government passed legislative amendments to regulate sexual harassment in the workplace and public spaces.  According to the amendments, the employer became obliged to take measures for equal treatment of all employees, as well as to include provisions on the prohibition of discrimination in internal regulations, and to ensure their fulfillment.  Read more…   Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. “Fact Check” reports about disinformation regarding the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The subject of discussion is the website Geomediapress.ge, according to which the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been suspended due to vaccination in Norway, causing the death of up to 400 people. “Referring to the official website of Pfizer-BioNTech, Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination has not been stopped in any country, including Norway mentioned in the article. It is not true either that the vaccination claimed the lives of up to 400 people in Norway. In fact, as of today, 33 people have died shortly after being vaccinated with the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech anti-COVID-19 vaccine at a home for the elderly in Norway. It was by January 14, 2020, when for the first time in Norway 23 cases of death after vaccination were officially reported. According to January 18 data, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health had already studied and published results of the autopsy of 13 out of 23 deaths, which revealed that the connection between the vaccine and death was not found. The article of Geomediapress.ge was published on January 19, after the Norwegian Institute of Public Health noted that the connection between death and the vaccine could not be proved”, - is stated by “Fact Check”. Read more… Source:The website of the organization

On January 26, 2021, at the United Nations, as part of the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), UN member states shared Georgia’s recommendations for improving the human rights situation. At the periodic review session, almost all the important topics shared by the civil society by the member states were voiced as recommendations. As part of the third cycle of the UN Universal Periodic Review, an online advocacy campaign involving NGOs was supported by UPR Info and the Open Society Georgia Foundation. Read more…  Source: osgf.ge

Tbilisi. The EU-funded project „Georgian Civil Society Sustainability Initiative“ invites you to take part in the CSO Online National Forum on 28-29 January.  The forum is about: the project activities, main achievements, and challenges; the current situation of civil society in the regions of Georgia; the best practices of civil society organizations in EaP countries (Ukraine; Moldova; Belarus). To participate in the forum, register until 27 January from here  Read more...   Source: The page in the social network

Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. Transparency International Georgia published outcomes of 2019-2020 Activities of Committees of Concerned Citizens in Samegrelo. By the information TI spared, the majority of the problems identified by our CCC members in Khobi and Zugdidi were related to rehabilitation and pavement of the roads, increasing the number of municipal public transport, water supply-related works, renovating recreational zones, children’s attractions, and playgrounds, increasing the number of garbage containers, adjustment of the outdoor lighting poles and fencing the village cemeteries in various districts of cities and villages. Read more…  Source: The web-page of the organization

Tbilisi. The Public Defender makes a statement on the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights for Georgia in the case of Georgia v. Russia (II).  “The above ruling of the European Court of Human Rights is of great legal and historic importance for Georgia. By this decision, the Court confirmed that the Russian Federation had exercised “effective control” over the territories of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and the buffer zone from 12 August to 10 October 2008. After this period, Russia's strong presence on the territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, as well as the South Ossetian and Abkhazian de facto authorities’ dependence on and subordination to the Russian Federation, confirms that the Russian Federation continues to have "effective control" over these territories. At the same time, based on the court ruling, the Russian Federation has a legal obligation to ensure the safe return of internally displaced persons to their homes”, - Is mentioned in the statement.  Read more…   Source: The web-page of the organization

The Eastern Partnership Civil Society Facility invites all civil society organizations based in to join the Webinar & Workshop on Human-centred Design on January 25 and 26.  The Workshop will be held in English only. To join Register here  Read more... Source: The page in the social network

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers” Association prepared a document – “Strategic litigation against the construction of large hydropower projects”.  “Large hydropower projects especially affect local population, change their living conditions as well as have an obvious and inevitable impact on the environment. “Analysis of construction projects shows that the process of issuing permits by the state is carried out with improper involvement of local residents, procedural and substantive shortcomings, which causes fair protests of the population”, - is stated in the document.  Read more…  Source: The website of the organization in a social network

To support practical training in six vocational colleges, we provided GEL 800,000 worth of agriculture machinery and food processing equipment.  This initiative was implemented with funds from the Swiss Development Cooperation in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport of Georgia.  Read more…  Source: The page in the social network

Tbilisi. “Rights Georgia” addresses the Government of Georgia and demands to stop the extradition of a citizen of Georgia from Italy to Russia. “Rights Georgia” appeals to relevant authorities of Georgia to take effective steps in order to stop the extradition of Boris Tsiklauri, a citizen of Georgia detained in Italy, to the Russian Federation and return him to his homeland”, - is noted in the statement, - “Rights Georgia” calls on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia to take effective and timely steps to stop the extradition of Tsiklauri; the Embassy of Georgia in Italy - to provide support to the Tsiklauri family in the process of obtaining available legal assistance. “Rights Georgia” expresses its readiness to represent interests of Tsiklauri before the European Court of Human Rights once domestic legal mechanisms in Italy are exhausted”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia developed a petition demanding product safety control.  "Safety requirements for the absolute majority of consumer products in Georgia are not defined and state control does not apply. The life and health of citizens of Georgia, including those of future generations, are not protected. We consider that the Parliament of Georgia has to ensure safety requirements for all types of consumer products are defined in the shortest possible time and set state control over security in place, similar to the EU model”, - is stated by the authors of the petition.  Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

The EU Spokesperson makes a statement on the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights. “The ruling clearly concludes that after 12 August 2008 the Russian Federation, exercising effective control over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, violated several provisions of the European Convention of Human Rights”, - is mentioned in the statement, - “Achieving justice and accountability is an important part of conflict resolution and the EU calls upon the Russian Federation to ensure the proper follow-up of the ruling. The European Union is fully committed to supporting conflict resolution, which also requires efforts to address the legacy of past conflicts”. Read more…  Source: eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. U.S. Embassy in Georgia published a statement on Judgement of the European Court of Human Rights. “In the state-to-state case of Georgia v. Russia on the 2008 Russia-Georgia War, the Court ruled clearly in favor of Georgia and found Russia responsible for violating multiple articles of the European Convention of Human Rights, including by detaining and torturing individuals, and denying Georgian citizens the right to return to their homes“, - is mentioned in the statement, - “The Court’s ruling adds further weight to the international community’s demand that Russia cease its blatant violations of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Russia's attempts to control and exploit the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia through borderization, arbitrary detentions, restrictions of movement across the administrative boundary lines, and establishment of socio-economic and military "agreements” between Russia and the two Georgian regions are particularly concerning and unacceptable”. Read more…  Source: The page in the social network

Tbilisi. Female Experts to be Employed in Regional Departments of Samkharauli National Forensics Bureau following Public Defender’s Recommendation.  “The Public Defender welcomes the readiness of Samkharauli National Forensics Bureau to comply with the Public Defender's recommendation and employ female experts in the regional departments of the Bureau in order to create an equal and dignified environment for female victims of sexual violence, as well as to conduct training for the staff of Tbilisi and regional offices on the psychological aspects of proper communication with victims of sexual violence”, - is mentioned in the information the Public Defender’s office spared.  Read more…   Source: The web-page of the organization