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

Tbilisi. International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy prepared a study – “Agitation of public servants on social networks”.  “In the modern world, the use of social networks for political and electoral purposes grows day by day. Social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, have become the main platforms of candidates during an election campaign. It is specifically through these means that direct communication with voters, mobilization of supporters, or change of the public agenda takes place. The purpose of the study is to analyze the challenges of responding to the use of social networks for electoral/political purposes in Georgia, in particular: the legislative framework and the practice of response of relevant bodies to these cases. Besides, based on the experience of various developed, democratic states, to study standards of regulation of behavior and agitation of officials on social networks”, - is stated in the introduction to the study. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI) presents a report on the monitoring of parliamentary hearings of candidates nominated by the High Council of Justice of Georgia for vacant positions of judges of the Supreme Court of Georgia.  As stated in the report, - “It is true that the present competition was conducted on the basis of improved procedures and rules compared to a similar process in 2019, however, there were revealed no fewer shortcomings related to the content in the process itself. The difference between appraisal prepared by members of the High Council of Justice and actual results demonstrated during committee hearings was conspicuous. Candidates, whose personal or professional, as well as communication skills, were highly valued by members of the Council, often lost their temper during committee hearings and behaved inappropriately for their high judicial status”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Media Advocacy Coalition publishes a report, which contains an evaluation of July 5 and 6, 2021 developments related to a large-scale attack on media in Tbilisi in terms of various aspects. The report incorporates an analysis of preconditions and legal aspects of violence committed against media. The evaluation is based on information available in public and open sources. The content of the report has been worked out by the Coalition member organizations. Read more… Source: qartia.ge

Tbilisi. Vakhushti Menabde, GYLA Democratic Institutions Support Program Director, Ilia State University Associate Professor, publishes his response to the ruling party. “The Georgian Dream analyzed interim reports on the 2021 self-government elections prepared by observer organizations, including GYLA. Findings of the analysis were presented to the public on Friday. We always review comments made in regard to our documents attentively, which allows us to improve them. We do not think that criticism is a one-way street and no one can respond to us or point out mistakes. On the contrary, we are always ready to listen. Therefore, I have read this analysis with great care. And now I would like to discuss it with you. Needless to say, I do not intend to speak on behalf of other observer organizations, so I will focus only on the report of GYLA”, - writes the author. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The Public defender of Georgia published a report – ‘Impact of COVID 19 pandemic on conflict-affected women and girls.   ‘The present report provides results of research conducted by the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on conflict-affected women and girls, to evaluate local safety policy in this regard, and to identify the needs of women and girls living in collective centers, near the dividing line and in the occupied territories , - we rad in the information spread by the Public Defender’s office, - ‘As part of the monitoring, interviews and focus groups meetings were held with the conflict-affected women and girls, representatives of international organizations and, international missions; also with the non-governmental organizations, working on the peacebuilding process.  Read more… https://www.ombudsman.ge/eng/akhali-ambebi/covid-19-pandemiis-gavlena-konfliktit-dazaralebul-kalebsa-da-gogoebze  Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Public defender of Georgia published a report - ‘Findings and Recommendations of Monitoring of Implementation of 2018-2020 National Action Plan for Women, Peace, and Security.   ‘The present report provides results of the Public Defender’s monitoring of the implementation of the 2018-2020 National Action Plan for Women, Peace, and Security. The purpose of the monitoring was to evaluate the implementation of the measures provided for in the Action Plan and the results achieved to identify shortcomings and main gaps’, - we rad in the information spread by the Public Defender’s office, - ‘As part of the monitoring, information was requested from state agencies implementing the activities under the Action Plan. Focus group meetings were held with women living in the IDP settlements and villages along the dividing line in various regions of Georgia. Meetings were also held with representatives of non-governmental organizations and self-governing bodies. Due to the limitations of the Covid Pandemic, the above-mentioned meetings were held online’.  Read more…  Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Religious Associations of Public Defender’s Council of Religions and Tolerance Center Express Protest against Released Secret Materials. ‘We are astonished and express our extreme protest against the released secret materials and information contained in them’, - It is said in their statement, - ‘Members of the Council of Religions are considering what legal and international mechanisms we can apply to protect our rights and freedoms, our security. At the same time, we urge everyone: the Georgian Government, opposition parties, human rights organizations, religious associations, the media, and private individuals to exercise extreme caution relating to secret information, as it may inflict the most serious, completely undeserved, and irreparable harm on the security and reputation of each person, including minors, which is particularly alarming’. Read more…  Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association appeals to the Constitutional Court and demands to recognize boundaries of majoritarian constituencies established for local self-government elections unconstitutional. “By its decision N1/3/547 of May 28, 2015, the Constitutional Court of Georgia considered unconstitutional those norms of the Electoral Code, which defined boundaries of constituencies for the parliamentary elections in a way that violated the principle of an equal weight of electoral votes of voters. According to the common practice of the Constitutional Court of Georgia, “the primary goal and basis for the exercise of the right to vote are to reflect the will of citizens in final results of elections”. Respectively, an important component of this right is the ability of voters to affect the outcome of elections. Following the disputed norms, loss of weight and influence of electoral vote deprives voters of the opportunity to exercise his/her active suffrage effectively. In contrary to this, voters, the weight of whose electoral vote is raised, obtain an increased chance to affect the results of elections. Such an electoral system grants citizens unequal opportunities as well as fails to ensure that elections are held in accordance with the Constitution and the will of voters is adequately reflected in the final results of elections, which contradicts the principle of democratic governance. The decision of the Constitutional Court was about the right to equality of votes in the parliamentary elections, however, international experience confirms that the same approach is relevant for local self-government elections as well”, - they state at GYLA. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. IDFI publishes the article "Archives and Conspiracy Theories: An Example of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church" by Mochil Metodiev, a Researcher of the Institute for Studies of the Recent Past, Bulgaria.  ‘Understandably, the expectations from the opening of the communist secret services archives are high. The society hopes that the archives will provide long-awaited answers on the communist regime and its collapse and that this step will lead to greater transparency of institutions, it will restore justice, and pave the way for meritocratic development of the new elites. All those hopes are understandable and reasonable. At the same time, the opening of the archives brings a number of unforeseen challenges. The main challenge is the possible discrepancy between the information, revealed in the archives, and the public convictions, already established during the early years of the transition. How do the public and institutions react when the revelations from the archives not only do not confirm but even contradict the already established perceptions?’ - We read in the article.  Read more…   Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia has launched a live blog on election irregularities and response. The data covers the period from June 1 to September 17. Read more…  Source: The webpage of the organization