Tbilisi. According to information released by the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), the organization demanded legal response to violations detected on the voting day and in the summary protocols in more than 350 cases. “GYLA demands recounting of data of all polling stations in the Isani district. The reason for such a demand is a circumstance, which has revealed various types of discrepancies in 4 cases at 5 recounted polling stations in the Isani district randomly selected in accordance with the obligation stipulated by law”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Adjara. As Transparency International Georgia informs, with the help of lawyers of the organization, the Batumi City Court satisfied a lawsuit of Vazha Ananidze, annulled the order regarding his dismissal and reinstated him to work. “He will be remunerated in the amount of GEL 31 000 for loss of salary, while GEL 25 200 as a compensation in exchange for his reinstatement to the position of Associate Professor at the Maritime Academy”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. To honor and promote outstanding achievements of Georgia’s investigative journalists who often work in hostile environment to unearth difficult issues, no matter who may be involved in them, Europe Foundation decided to establish a Georgia Shining Light Awards. Read more… Source: epfound.ge

Samtskhe-Javakheti. According to information released by the Social Justice Center, on October 6, snow fell in Javakheti, as well as in other mountainous regions. "Most of the residents of Ninotsminda and Akhalkalaki meet harsh winter again without gas and in difficult conditions. 8 out of 31 villages of Ninotsminda, while 22 out of 64 villages of Akhalkalaki have no gas. Families that are left without this basic infrastructure use liquid gas cylinders for heating, while more often they use so-called “Javakhian kalag” (dried cow dung cut in rectangular pieces). This experience once again demonstrates economic and social inequality between the center and peripheries, as well as hardships that are confronted by people living in high mountainous regions and do not change or improve from year to year”. Read more... Source: The website of the Social Justice Center on a social network

Tbilisi. UNICEF Georgia releases an article: Four things you can do to support your teen’s mental health. Whether you and your teen are getting along well or having challenges, it is important to show that you love and support them, that you can help them navigate tough times and that you are always there for them. Here are four things to keep in mind when having that ‘how-are-you-doing?’ conversation with your teen and to show that you are always there for them. Encourage them to share their feelings Take the time to support them Work through conflict together Care for yourself Read more… Source: www.unicef.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 IDFI, Georgia was one of the first countries to join the Open Government Partnership in 2011 and has been particularly active since the first stages of implementing the initiative but participation of the Government of Georgia in OGP has backslidden over the past few years and at present has almost stalled. “As a result of the continued indolence for several years - Georgia's reputation, as one of the leaders of the Open Government Partnership in terms of developing an action plan and implementing commitments, has suffered irreparable harm”. Learn more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On October 5, 2021, Public Defender Nino Lomjaria and Deputy Public Defender Ekaterine Skhiladze met with representatives of the Office of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities - Senior Political Adviser to the High Commissioner Mark Fumagal, Project Officer Edin Elgsaeter and National Programme Coordinator Nino Gogoladze. “The situation of the rights of national minorities, including issues related to access to and implementation of the right to education, as well as access to information and low participation and activity of representatives of national minorities in the political life of the country were discussed at the meeting”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Imereti. Local Democracy Agency Georgia, in the framework of the project "Civil Society Initiative", held meeting with the public servants who are responsible for relations with civil society organizations in Khoni municipality. “The aim of the meetings is to promote the role of civil society in public policy. The similar meetings are planned in all municipalities of Imereti region. The meetings is being organized by LDA Georgia within the framework of the project "Civil Society Initiative," with the support of the European Union and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. With the assistance of "Rights Georgia", Mexican national to be granted the right to temporary stay in Georgia. „On September 5, 2021, JK, a citizen of the United States of Mexico, applied to “Rights Georgia” for legal assistance. The beneficiary wanted to apply for a Georgian residence permit. On October 1, 2021, The Public Service Development Agency granted a residence permit for a citizen of the United Mexican States“. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On October 4, 2021, the UN Association of Georgia in partnership with the World Federation of United Nations (WFUNA) commenced a five-day training course “Human Rights in Action” for the new cohort of participants. “The first stage of the program delivers training sessions in human rights and project management to 20 young participants from Azerbaijan and Georgia. Throughout the training, participants will have the opportunity to interact with key actors in the human rights field”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to information released by Transparency International Georgia, Shalva Tadumadze, former Prosecutor General and Judge of the Supreme Court, sues Eka Gigauri, Executive Director of the organization, for defamation in regard to his diploma. “Tadumadze considers that statements of Eka Gigauri, in which she questions qualification of Shalva Tadumadze and compliance of his diploma with current legislation, are slanderous. Transparency International Georgia reviewed a number of subject related documents, received from public agencies, and findings raised specific questions. Despite the fact that the judiciary system faces serious challenges and we do not expect an impartial, objective outcomes of justice, Transparency International Georgia will defend its interests in the courts of all instances. Read more… Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Children and young people could feel the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health and well-being for many years to come, UNICEF warned in its flagship report today. “According to the latest available estimates, more than 1 in 7 adolescents aged 10–19 is estimated to live with a diagnosed mental disorder globally. Almost 46,000 adolescents die from suicide each year, among the top five causes of death for their age group. Meanwhile, wide gaps persist between mental health needs and mental health funding. The report finds that about 2 per cent of government health budgets are allocated to mental health spending globally”. Read the press release... Source: www.unicef.org

To mitigate the socio-economic impact of the COVID induced crisis, USAID/Zrda supported Samvel Margariani and helped his “Family Corner” purchase various hiking and leisure equipment such as home audio system, projector, tents, hammocks, tennis table, portable fridge, GoPro, etc. „USAID/Zrda assisted travel value chain players to adapt their services and working procedures in line with the new Covid-protocols and initiated a subsidiary program encouraging former partner enterprises and individual entrepreneurs. To this end, Zrda allocated a total financing pool of GEL 300,000, shortlisted and awarded 14 entrepreneurs, up to 30,000 Gel per award, to help them retain jobs, commence new tourism activities and stay competitive on the market“. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. A new handbook - “Constitutional Justice” has been added to the online library of USAID-PROLoG - Promoting Rule of Law in Georgia Activity. Read more... Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Samegrelo. The new home for the elderly in the village of Rukhi provides care services for the vulnerable older people of conflict-affected communities. “Most of its residents had been living without fundamental care or had experienced domestic violence”. Read more… Source: www.ge.undp.org

Tbilisi. The UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities #UNCRPD is a critical tool to ensure social, economic, and legal protection. It is the legal protection of people with disabilities and supports their inclusion and integration in society. “Georgia is establishing an Inter-Agency Committee to serve as a responsible agency and coordination mechanism in the UNCRPD implementation”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On 2 October, local elections took place in Georgia. The European Union commends the Georgian citizens for exercising their democratic right to vote in these elections, as well as the dedicated electoral staff and observers, considering the challenging context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We welcome the fact that a full-fledged International Election Observation Mission was deployed.  “This mission concluded that the elections were generally well administered – though characterised by hardened polarisation –, that contestants were able to campaign freely in a competitive environment, and that the Election Day proceeded in an orderly and transparent manner. It also highlighted important shortcomings, notably widespread and consistent allegations of intimidation, vote-buying, pressure on candidates and voters and an unlevel playing field. In addition, the significant imbalance in resources and an undue advantage of incumbency further benefited the ruling party. Underrepresentation of women in the campaign demonstrates a need for greater commitment to ensure adequate representation in politics”. Read more… Source: eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association within the framework of the Short-term Observation (STO) Mission provides the public with information about the events happening during the polling and the counting of votes.  “According to GYLA, procedural irregularities were observed at the various stage of the Election Day. The tense atmosphere in a number of polling stations during the day may have affected both the behavior of voters and the monitoring of the process itself. In some precincts, GYLA was deprived of an opportunity for monitoring; The facts of violating election regulations were revealed after the closure of polling stations too”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center publishes a document that contains an analysis of visions of political parties in regard to implementation of social policy. “The COVID-19 pandemic further aggravated the socio-economic situation of population and forced them to confront toughest problems, including extreme socio-economic vulnerability, food shortage, homelessness. The role of municipalities in solving these problems is substantial - it is the local government that has to study challenges of population thoroughly and carry out effective interventions tailored to their needs. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused irreparable damage to the socio-economic situation of citizens, pre-election programs of political parties do not envisage specific ways to overcome emerged difficulties”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, and the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics publish a joint report: Joint assessment of the pre-election environment of the 2021 municipal elections in Georgia. “As a summary, it can be stated that the pre-election environment was more or less competitive. All parties were able to run the election campaign, however, the ruling party enjoyed a greater advantage due to mobilization of administrative and other types of resources on its side. The pre-election environment got affected by a high number of facts of political pressure, threats, and dismissal from work or forced resignation, as well as by ineffective investigation of such cases by relevant state agencies”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Rights Georgia presents a blog post of Nana Mchedlidze, an expert in international law: Compulsory vaccination does not violate human rights. “The purpose of the article is to inform society about an existing European standard on obligations of the state and rights of people in regard to the vaccination, which standard is compulsory for 47 member states of the Council of Europe, including Georgia”. Read more… Source: rights.ge