Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes an interim report of the study on “Misuse of administrative resources for the 2021 municipal elections in Georgia”. Observation performed by the organization for the municipal elections from June 1 to September 25, 2021 revealed that misuse of administrative resources for the elections is still a problem for Georgia.  “Ineffective investigation of alleged cases of intimidation applied against employees of budgetary organizations on political grounds, dismissal from work and harassment of candidates of opposition parties, as well as the politicization of public institutions and large-scale mobilization of employees of budgetary organizations for election campaign purposes by the ruling party, use of budgetary programs for parochial party interests and other flawed tendencies are main challenges to a fair election environment”.  Read more…  Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center (formerly EMC), with the support of the European Foundation, has been implementing a project entitled “Cases of collusion, corruption and conflict of interests surrounding the Namakhvani HPP Cascade Project” since July 2021. “This project is a collaborative endeavor of Social Justice Center and the media organization Investigative Journalists Team “iFact”. A team of legal experts and journalists will work jointly during 12 months and publish information about cases of corruption and conflict of interests, as well as possible state and business collusion scenarios involving state agencies and Namakhvani HPP implementing parties”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Ajara. The Civil Society Institute and the Khelvachauri Youth Center, within the framework of the “First time at the self-government elections” campaign, invite young people to meetings that aim at raising their awareness about activities and importance of self-government, strengthening the role of young people in self-government development, and supporting participation in the elections.  October 2, 2021 is a day when the self-government elections take place and it is important to ensure that as many young people as possible, especially those who participate in the elections for the first time, make an informed choice.  The meeting schedule is as follows: September 28 - 14:00 – Machakhela Village, at the Tskhemlara Bridge; 16:00 – Charnali Village, at the garden. September 29 - 14:00 - Online meeting with young people of the Khelvachauri center. Link   The “First time at the self-government elections” campaign is implemented by the Civil Society Institute within the framework of the “Building a Robust Alliance of Local Development Actors in Georgia” (Phase Two) project, with the support of a German organization “Bread for the World” and in collaboration with the Youth Center of Khelvachauri Municipality.  Read more…  Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. In honor of the memory of those killed during the hostilities in Abkhazia, Ambassador Kelly C. Degnan, Senior Defense Official COL Stephanie Bagley, and members of Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Georgia laid wreaths at Heroes Square. ‘Sokhumi fell to Russian-backed forces 28 years ago today. This grave tragedy resulted in thousands losing their lives and hundreds of thousands forced from their homes. We remember this day with sorrow and with the hope that remains in the hearts of so many internally displaced people,’ - It is said in the information spread by the embassy. Read more…  Source: The page in the social network

Tbilisi. On September 23, 2021, the Constitutional Court announced its decision in the case “Giorgi Tsertsvadze v. the Parliament of Georgia”. With this decision, the court satisfied the lawsuit and declared the disputed normative content of Article 33, Part 6, Subparagraph “a” of the Criminal Procedure Code of Georgia unconstitutional. The disputed norm gave the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia or a person entitled by him the authority to seize a criminal case from one investigative body, despite the investigative subordination, and transfer it to another body that was compromised by the reasonable complaint filed against its employee (police officer) due to the fact of encroachment on the right guaranteed by Article 9, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution. In the opinion of the plaintiff, mentioned authority endangered independence of the investigation and was not limited by guiding principles. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. With the help of UN Women, Georgia has joined the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) and once more has underlined the need for #equalpay for equal work. „It is noteworthy that with this step, the country reaffirmed its readiness to fulfil the obligation to eliminate the gender pay gap“. Read more… Source: georgia.unwomen.org

Tbilisi. Today, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) presented a study – “Public attitude towards electoral processes”. Within the framework of the study, there were examined the attitude of society towards participation in the elections, in general, as well as the progression of electoral processes and malpractices during the elections.  According to information released by the organization, the document is based on the results of quantitative and qualitative research. Within the framework of the quantitative research, data were collected through a telephone survey methodology. There were conducted interviews with 3100 adults in Georgian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Russian languages. Collected data are representative of the population of Georgia, except for those living within the occupied territories. As part of the qualitative research, six focus group meetings were held with the socially vulnerable populations in Tbilisi, Zugdidi, and the village of Shilda. Besides, there were conducted six interviews with public servants from Tbilisi, Zugdidi, and the village of Shilda, and four interviews with representatives of various businesses from Tbilisi and Zugdidi. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Rule of Law in Georgia (USAID / PROLoG) project, releases a study on Access to Justice in Georgia.  The study conducted by Social Justice Center in 2020-2021 years has revealed that access to justice in Georgia has many dimensions. The main problem is the fact that the state does not have a unified vision in regard to the improvement of access to justice and fails to pursue effective policies in this regard. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. On October 2 and 3, there will operate a Media Center of non-governmental organizations associated with the elections of local self-government bodies in Georgia. At the Media Center, non-government organizations, observing the elections, will provide journalists with information about the election process. The center will host briefings conducted by: Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association; International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy; Transparency International Georgia; Multinational Georgia; Human Rights Center. The Media Center of non-governmental organizations will be located in the hotel “Rooms” – Garden Hall, 14 Merab Kostava Street, Tbilisi. Only people who have been vaccinated twice are allowed at the Media Center. Read more… Source: osgf.ge

Tbilisi. The initiative group “Hippodrome-Concrete Free Zone” organizes a public discussion for Tbilisi mayoral candidates. The purpose of the discussion is to let expected mayoral candidates introduce their vision regarding further development of the park to the population, to argue about the problem of the hippodrome and optimal ways out of this problem. “It is the 11th month that an unlawful construction takes place on the territory of the former hippodrome. Tbilisi City Hall does not have the documentation necessary for the implementation of the project. Besides, due to its content, the project provoked protests among the local population and users of the hippodrome from the very beginning as the sketch project submitted by Tbilisi City Hall fails to consider the history of the park, its social significance, extraordinary specifics, and natural development, the general context of both the district and the city, and, most importantly, users themselves”, - is noted in the statement released by the initiative group. Read more… Source: osgf.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia presented a report – ‘Women and mobility – gender aspects of the women daily movement’.   The report studies the gender characteristics of daily mobility, the choice of means of transportation, and what motivates this choice, gender barriers to specific mobility means, the impact of gender and mobility barriers, challenges on gender equality, and transport policy in the country.  Read more…   Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. The European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are partnering with the Agency of Protected Areas of the Ministry of the Environmental Protection and Agriculture to help Georgia sustainably manage these forests, preserve biodiversity, mitigate climate change and create environmentally friendly economic opportunities.  Through this partnership, the EU and UNDP will assist the Agency of Protected Areas to improve management of 34,000 hectares of forests in the Algeti, Javakheti and Lagodekhi protected areas, develop forest management plans, train and equip rangers and establish eco-tourism services. In addition, the EU and UNDP will help create a multi-language mobile application to provide tourists with information about all protected areas in Georgia.  The 14-month EUR 211,000 support draws on the resources made available under the EU-funded European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD) programme(link is external), which is assisting Georgia to reform and modernize its national approach to rural development.  Read more…   Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center releases a statement in response to the termination of the Namakhvani HPP agreement by the company ENKA. Disseminated information regarding the termination of the Namakhvani HPP agreement by ENKA requires an immediate explanation from governmental agencies about the content, conditions, and deadlines of the agreement. In case the agreement for the Namakhvani HPP project is terminated, it will be a success of strong public protest and resistance, while the fact itself will set an extremely important precedent for changing the malpractice of holding similar negotiations behind closed doors in the future”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Today, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) presented the second interim report for the official pre-election period of the 2021 local self-government elections.  The report covers the period from August 31 through September 21, 2021, as well as certain events, development of which began before August 31, continued further within the monitoring period or became known during the monitoring period. Read more… Source: The website 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. Transparency International Georgia has launched a live blog on election irregularities and response.  The data covers the period till September 22.  Read more…   Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. USAID, ICNL, and FHI 360 published ‘2020 civil society organization sustainability index’. The document contains such issues as overall CSO sustainability, legal environment, organizational capacity, financial viability, advocacy, service provision, sectoral infrastructure, public image. Read more…  Source: The page in the social network

Tbilisi. IDFI spreads a Collection of Essays – ‘Topical Issues of Personal Data Protection'.  This collection includes essays written by students on current issues of personal data protection. The essay competition was announced on May 14, 2021, in which dozens of students from various higher education institutions participated. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information and the State Inspector's Service revealed the authors of 15 winning essays.  Read more…   Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. UN Women Georgia presented a study – ‘Workplace Sexual Harassment in the Civil Service in Georgia’.  The Study on Workplace Sexual Harassment in the Civil Service in Georgia is a joint initiative of UN Women and the Civil Service Bureau of Georgia. The study was prepared by CRRC-Georgia for UN Women within the framework of the “Good Governance for Gender Equality in Georgia” project generously supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Read more…  Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. Media Development Foundation the sixth annual report of anti-Western propaganda reflects the results of media monitoring conducted in 2020.  The study is carried out in partnership with the UN Association of Georgia (UNAG) within "Promoting Integration, Tolerance and Awareness Program in Georgia” implemented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Read more…  Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The Tolerance and Diversity Institute publishes a research – “Racial profiling in Georgia – Existing policies and practices of the police system towards ethnic minorities and migrants”. “The problem of racial profiling is current in the daily activities of police institutions in different countries. The police often use human visual characteristics and other personal data while performing routine procedures. In such a case, there occurs a risk that this data may make given group of society more relevant for the police, i.e. police officers may pay more attention to people with certain visual characteristics, unconditionally considering them as those posing increased risk”, - is stated in the introductory part of the research, - “The present research is the first that aims to study the current practice of racial profiling in Georgia based on experiences of police officers, migrants and ethnic minorities. We hope that this research will make a significant contribution to launching of public debates on the issue of racial profiling, while it will help the state to pursue appropriate policies”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center once again appeals the Constitutional Court to argue about constitutionality of the standard for obtaining evidences as a result of search.  “On June 28, 2021, the Parliament of Georgia adopted a norm that fails to ensure refinement of the system for obtaining evidences as a result of search and still contains risks of police taking arbitrary actions. According to the new rule, possession of an illegal item seized as a result of search based on operative information may be corroborated by any evidence other than testimonies of police officers participating in search. However, there is no necessity to obtain another evidence if it is objectively impossible. The law does not envisage any obligation for police officers to obtain neutral evidences”, - is noted in the statement released by the Center.  Read more…  Source: The website of the organization