Adjara. Within the framework of the “Civil Society Initiative” project, Adjara Regional Hub conducted meetings with public school teachers and students in 5 municipalities of Adjara. “At public schools in Chvani, Legva, Kharaula, Tkhilnari and Ganakhleba, participants of meetings got acquainted with information about civil society organizations working in the Adjara region, project opportunities and activities. The project is implemented by a consortium led by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) in collaboration with the following non-governmental organizations: Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG), Civil Society Institute (CSI), Center for Training and Consultancy (CTC), Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC) and Institute for European Politics (IEP)”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. According to the information of the Public Defender, on December 10, 2021, on the occasion of the Human Rights Day, a human rights forum was held to discuss inequalities that jeopardise democracy in Georgia and hamper Georgia’s progress towards a fair and just society. “The message of this year’s Human Rights Day is: "All human, all equal". The forum discussed three main areas where pandemic has particularly deepened social and economic challenges: 1. gender equality, 2. legal and social protection of the LGBTQI+ community, and 3. inclusion of ethnic and religious minorities”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. ISFED, supported by Black Sea Trust, launches a project – “Empowerment of young civic leaders in Georgia”. “Within the framework of the project, there is conducted a session of civic education trainings aiming to form a diverse group of motivated young leaders, who are going to use relevant skills and knowledge in the future so as to actively engage in social and political activities. At the end of trainings, young leaders will develop projects according to needs of their region and community, while ISFED will support to implement them. After completion of the project, some of the participants will undergo an internship at leading local or international organizations”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization on a social network ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group (WISG) launches a new project: “Advocacy of gender and sexuality issues in digital and academic spaces”. “Within the framework of the project, we aim to problematize discrimination on the grounds of gender identity/sexual orientation and the so-called “conversion therapy” practice in the field of mental health, as well as to introduce LGBTQI+ affirmative approaches through facilitation of ethical practice and research”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. In connection with International Human Rights Day, the Social Justice Center publishes an annual report on the human rights-related situation.  “The country entered the year of 2021 on the background of a continuous political crisis, which had not been defused by either the April 19 political agreement, signed through the mediation of international partners or the 2021 local self-government elections. In the agenda based on a political crisis, there appeared to be completely missed out the following issues: alarming human and social consequences of the pandemic; the dire social and economic situation existing in the country, which further aggravated on the background of an unprecedented scale of inflation; reforms aimed at protection of human rights and equality”, - is stated in the report. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. On International Human Rights Day, December 10, the opening event of IDFI’s Winter School "Rule of Law and Human Rights" was held. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-year law school students of the universities authorized in Georgia participate in the winter school. The following important issues will be discussed within the scope of the school: the principle of separation of powers, constitutional control and litigation, the independence of the judiciary, open governance and accountability of the government, freedom of information, the right to private and family life, the role of the Public Defender and the State Inspector’s service, freedom of expression. Read more…  Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. “Georgian Democracy Initiative” presents a report – “Human Rights in Georgia 2021”. The report contains a review of the situation in terms of protection of human rights in Georgia in 2021. In the document, there is a thematic overview of main developments and occurrences of the current year, which expose the extent to which the Government of Georgia fulfills its obligations in the field of human rights and the rule of law. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. A new report by Transparency International Georgia indicates that undeclared business assets of Parliament members and incompatible activities with their status is a problematic issue in the Parliament of Georgia of the 10Th Convocation.  'We do not have the capacity to establish whether the undeclared companies are actually engaged in entrepreneurial activities and The Civil Service Bureau should be interested in this issue. As for the conflict of interests, this needs to be examined by the Parliamentary Committee of Procedural Issues and Rules', - is mentioned in the document. The information about MPs’ asset declarations and their shares in companies is given in the report as 16 September 2021. Read more…  Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. In connection with the Human Rights Day, GYLA publishes an appraisal of the situation related to protection of human rights in Georgia in 2021. “On December 10, the International Human Rights Day is observed. This date relates to the fact that took place 73 years ago when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. GYLA traditionally presents main challenges identified in the field of human rights during the current year”, - is stated in the document, which contains a review of human rights in the country in socio-economic, educational, freedom of assembly and expression, environmental and electoral terms. Read more… Source: rights.ge

Tbilisi. The Human Rights Center has published an analytical document: “Unlawful interference into professional activity of journalist, selective justice”. “In Georgia, facts of repression and violation of freedom of the media are more and more increasing in recent years, which has already become alarming. Various types of attempts to control the media, use of different forms of pressure, and progressive tendency of interference into professional activities of journalists, as well as of facts of physical or verbal assault upon them significantly harms the standard of protection of human rights in the country and send a strong signal of weakening democratic values and the standard of protection of human rights in the country”. Read more… Source: www.hrc.ge

Guria. Mac Georgia is pleased to announce the start of MAC’s 2021 Regional School Theater Festival. “The first performance took place at the Chokhatauri Cultural Center, where our Shua Amaghleba theater club prepared and performance play “Ra gitkhrat, Rit gagakharot””. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to the information of Rondeli Foundation the training programme for Georgia's future civil service leaders has been launched. “The first lecture on national security was conducted by Giorgi Bilanishvili, a research fellow at the Rondeli Foundation. The director of the Eesti Diplomaatide Kool/Estonian School of Diplomacy, Mr. Ekke Nõmm has welcomed the first cohort of the programme virtually”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Association "Anika" has been implementing the "Supported Employment and Well-being Program for Persons with Disabilities" with the financial support of the donor organization since 2017. “The purpose of the employment direction is to prepare participants for the market by developing the skills needed for employment, and helping them find long-term and paid jobs. If you want to take this opportunity, please, fill out the application form". Read more... Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. International Anti-Corruption Day is celebrated on December 9. “This day is crucial for governmental institutions and non-governmental organizations, as well as for the whole society, to be reminded that joint cooperation is essential for the prevention of corruption. IDFI continues to actively promote the fight against corruption and works to raise the attention of relevant actors on important Anti-Corruption issues”. Learn more about IDFI's anti-corruption activities here… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) publishes a study on “Sexual harassment in public spaces”. “Based on requested public information, GYLA studied the frequency of detection of cases of sexual harassment in public spaces, substantiation of decisions made by common courts, as well as the issue of imposing respective responsibility for facts of sexual harassment”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. According to an article of the IDFI: most of the Anti-Corruption rankings published by international organizations in 2021 indicate that the corruption situation in Georgia is worsening. “In order to respond the existing challenges, it is important for Georgia to pay more attention to the fight against corruption; to adhere to the recommendations of international Anti-Corruption institutions". Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Kvemo Kartli. Part of civil society organizations responds to the case of alleged political harassment of Ramiz Ramazanov. The organizations call on the Government to take all measures to protect his safety and dignity. “Ramiz Ramazanov has been missing from home for 2 days already. There are mobilized police forces around the vicinity of his house. According to his family members, Ramiz Ramazanov is in contact with them, however, they do not know of his whereabouts and exactly what is happening to him. So far, neither the Ministry of Internal Affairs nor any other agency have given an official explanation”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. Mark Clayton, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Georgia, met with Nino Lomjaria, Public Defender of Georgia, and expressed his support to the Public Defender’s Office and personally to the Public Defender of Georgia. The Ambassador noted that he closely monitors the assessments made by the Public Defender and trusts her statements as an objective source of information. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. December 9 is the International Anti-Corruption Day. Due to this day Transparency International Georgia releases a statement. “At one time, Georgia was recognized as a country successfully combating corruption. Progress made in the fight against bribery (petty corruption) is maintained to this day, which is an important achievement. However, at the same time, the country is seeing an alarming increase in more complex manifestations of corruption, such as: High-Level Corruption – participation of high-ranking officials or influential individuals associated with the ruling party in corruption-related violations; and State Capture – a situation when state institutions are not accountable to the country and its citizens and are, instead, serving the interests of influential private individuals". Read more… Source: transparency.ge

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Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) publishes a study - “Chronology and legal review of July 5-6 developments”. “The study revealed that on July 5, 2021, the state did not take appropriate measures to protect public safety and health”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes the survey: The Problem of Anonymous Company Ownership. “In recent years, secret financial documents have been occasionally made public (for example, Panama or Pandora Papers), which confirms that public officials throughout the world often utilise anonymous ownership of companies in order to avoid the restrictions on entrepreneurial activities imposed upon them. Anonymous ownership of companies is also often used by the world’s richest people for the purposes of tax evasion, money laundering and for making secret deals. This problem is relevant for Georgia as well”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge