Tbilisi. They believe at the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy that the CEC should reconsider the issue of registration of representatives of the Belarusian CEC as election observers. “We, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) and the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE), are concerned about the decision of the Central Election Commission of Georgia, which envisages registration of Galina Mkrtchyan and Olesya Urbanovich, representatives of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Belarus, as international observers for the upcoming local elections in Georgia. We call on the election administration of Georgia to reconsider the issue of accreditation of Ms. Mkrtchyan and Ms. Urbanovich as observers taking into account the fact that they are representatives of the uncompromisingly repressive regime in Belarus who were directly involved in the mass falsification of election results during the recent presidential elections in Belarus”, - is noted in the statement released by the organization. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) responds to the documentary material posted on the Internet space and sent it to the media on September 13. The material is allegedly created by the State Security Service via processing of information obtained as a result of covert surveillance among other means. “The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia should immediately inform society whether the spread materials are authentic or not. At the same time, the Parliament should apply authorities granted to it by the Constitution and law and intervene in the investigation of circumstances related to the spread materials, especially in the light of alleged signs of systemic unlawful surveillance”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. According to information released by Social Justice Center, deprivation of the right of ethnic Georgians to receive education in their own language in Gali took the most severe forms. “Restriction of studies in the native language for Georgian schoolchildren in the Gali district is a problem not only by cause of its discriminatory and assimilative content but also in terms of development of pupils and young people. Due to the fact that schoolchildren speak Megrelian or Georgian at home, while study all subjects in Russian and learn Abkhazian along with foreign languages at school, they cannot speak any of those languages fluently as a result”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. The special report was drawn up on the basis of the visits paid to the assisted living facilities and orphanages for persons with disabilities. “The document discusses the living and infrastructural environment of the facilities, the rule of institutional upbringing, the lack of inclusive care and necessary educational-rehabilitation services, which ultimately lead to the formation of the syndrome of dependence on the institution and reduce the beneficiaries’ skills for independent living. The number of staff is not sufficient and in some cases they are unqualified; hygiene and sanitary norms are not properly observed, which makes the environment especially dangerous in the context of the Covid 19 pandemic. Meals are not diverse and it is necessary to address the issue of unavailability of clean water. Cases of violence are not properly identified, evaluated or responded. No anti-alcoholic or anti-drug efforts are made. Somatic and mental health are problematic, as well as directions of dental and psychosocial treatment. The protection of confidentiality was identified as an important trend”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. In 2020, for the first time in the history of Georgian local observer organizations, CDD was able to obtain the necessary resources to observe the elections through international crowdfunding platform GoFundMe. “This year we are glad that the opportunity of crowdfunding became possible through the Georgian platform www.OrbelianiMeti.ge. We hope for you support which is crucial for us to mobilize the necessary resources to support a small but important observation mission in the 2021 municipal elections”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. IDFI believes, that the experience of recent years, especially the information spread a few days ago about the alleged facts of mass interception, clearly shows that covert surveillance is a systemic challenge for Georgia.  ‘Total surveillance, the use of covert surveillance records as a tool for political retaliation, influencing people and blackmailing them reveal a severe crisis, a democratic setback, and a disregard for human rights standards in the country’, - is mentioned in the information of IDFI, - ‘The institutional arrangement of the State Security Service, the excessive and uncontrolled power concentrated in its hands, the lack of an efficient system of oversight are incompatible with fundamental democratic values and principles. The regulatory and institutional framework governing covert surveillance fails to ensure adequate protection of privacy. There is no effective system of supervision and control in the country and there are no proper procedural guarantees to prevent the abuse of power by the state’.  Read more…   Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. The Public Defender presents the findings of a special report drawn up on the basis of the visits paid to the assisted living facilities and orphanages for persons with disabilities were presented and the activities planned in the thematic directions were discussed at the meeting. The visits were conducted in 2020 as part of the monitoring of the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and were aimed at assessing the quality of observance of the Minimum Care Standards in Specialized Living Facilities for Persons with Disabilities and Older People, as well as the Child Care Standards, including in the context of the prevention of the novel coronavirus. Read more…  Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association responds to news broadcasted through the mass media on September 13, 2021, and in the previous days. GYLA considers that this information confirms systematic and large-scale facts of alleged unlawful covert eavesdropping and surveillance performed by the State Security Service. “GYLA condemns gross violations in terms of interference in the personal life of people and calls on the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia to conduct an investigation in time, impartially and effectively”, - is noted in the statement released by the organization, - “Non-governmental organizations, including GYLA, have been pointing to the unlimited and uncontrollable authority of the State Security Service for years. Existing legislation is unable to protect the personal life of an individual from unlawful interference. Covert eavesdropping and surveillance affect the freedom of people. Over the years, the Constitutional Court has been reviewing the June 1, 2017 lawsuit №1231 regarding the constitutionality of several norms related to covert investigative activities, computer data, data bank, and supervision. As the Constitutional Court represents an important mechanism for the protection of human rights, it is crucial to ensure its resolutions are prompt and effective. In view of the above, we consider that the Constitutional Court should timely assess the compatibility of challenged norms with the Constitution of Georgia, in turn, facilitate perfection of legislation regulating covert investigative actions and create solid guarantees in legislation for the protection of human rights”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Media Advocacy Coalition condemns the violence committed against Levan Ablotia and Beka Korshia, a cameraman and a journalist of Mtavari Channel. “We consider that restricting the camera crew and injuring the cameraman on September 15, 2021, in Kareli contain also signs of unlawful interference in journalistic activities, which is a circumstance to be considered during the investigation. The Coalition assumes that the incident occurred in Kareli as a result of the aggressive politics of the ruling party”, - is noted in the statement released by the Coalition. Read more… Source: qartia.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender Nino Lomjaria met with Albert Johnson, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission. The violations detected during the pre-election period, cases of pressure on opposition parties, alleged cases of dismissal on political grounds, and ineffective response by the law enforcement agencies were the topics of discussion at the meeting. Read more…  Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center Appeals to Court to Suspend Construction of Namakhvani HPP and Revoke Construction Permit.  By the organization, ‘The construction permit was unjustifiably issued by the LEPL Technical and Construction Supervision Agency of the Ministry of Economy on April 22, 2020, with gross violations of legal requirements. According to a lawsuit filed by the Social Justice Center, the permitting agency grossly violated the requirements of the law and issued a construction permit without proper justification on an exceptional basis'.  Read more…   Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. On July 1, 2021, the bill initiated by the members of the Parliament of Georgia was registered. The bill aims to enforce the Judgement of the Constitutional Court of Georgia N1/4/693,857 of June 7, 2019. Notably, the Parliament was obligated to enforce the decision till May 1, 2020.  ‘The judgment of the Constitutional Court has established extremely important constitutional standards for the transparency of the judiciary, although it has not yet been implemented by the Parliament. The implementation of these standards is the direct constitutional obligation of the parliament. In addition, it is part of the so-called Charles Michel Agreement. It should be noted that the registration of the bill was preceded by the workshop of June 16, 2021, organized by IDFI in Borjomi, which was attended by the Legal Issues Committee of the Parliament’, - It is written in the information spread by IDFI.  Read more…   Source: The webpage of the organization

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Tbilisi. The Georgian Democracy Initiative responds to materials about personal life broadcasted on the air of various channels. “Information about facts of alleged unlawful covert surveillance and eavesdropping, performed by the State Security Service against clergy, journalists, teachers and representatives of diplomatic corps, and broadcasted on the air of various TV Companies, has further strengthened existing public suspicions about the presence of a heavy practice of unlawful interference in the sphere of personal life in the country. Publicized information indicates that no group, circle of people, the individual is protected from the control and surveillance of the State Security Service in the country”, - is noted in the statement released by the organization. Read more…  Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center responds to alleged facts exposing unlawful work of the State Security Service and considers that the publicized material demonstrates the hardest practice of unlawful, regular, and total wiretapping and surveillance of people. “In our opinion, this fact is a rough encroachment on the inviolability of private life and undermines opportunities of the country for its democratic development”, - is noted in the statement released by the organization, - “Social Justice Center calls on the Parliament of Georgia to establish a commission, which will investigate alleged facts of mass illegal wiretapping and gross violations of human rights committed by the State Security Service; initiate discussions regarding the fundamental reform of the State Security Service, deconcentration of its excess authority and increase of accountability mechanisms; while on the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia to launch a timely, effective and independent investigation into current facts as soon as possible and inform society about the progress and results of the investigation”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia presents updated data on election irregularities and responses. The information covers the period from 1 to 14 September. Read more…  Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. On September 13, 2021, Nino Lomjaria, Public Defender of Georgia, and Lyudmila Denisova, UkrainianParliament Commissioner for Human Rights, visited the village of Khurvaleti during the occupation line. The Public Defender informed her Ukrainian counterpart about the rights situation of the population living in the occupied territories. They talked about general problems, including restrictions on movement, medical and other services. "It seems that the occupation force is acting according to one and the same scenario and plan, but the situation in Georgia is aggravated by the lack of communication at the human and departmental levels, which is obviously the result of Russian pressure. Read more…  Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) presented today its first interim report on social media monitoring from the perspective of the 2021 self-government elections.  The report contains an analysis of the main trends that take place in the social media space in Georgia in the run-up to the 2021 local self-government elections. It describes the activity of official pages of political parties and local self-government bodies participating in the elections, as well as results of observations on anonymous and open pages operating for political purposes and other important trends. The report covers the period from August 2 through August 22, 2021. Within the reporting period monitors of ISFED thoroughly examined 1,126 posts. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. The European Court of Human Rights accepted one more lawsuit submitted by the Human Rights Center, which is related to June 20-21, 2019 developments. The case named Berikashvili vs Georgia has already been registered by the court. A citizen affected at the demonstration raided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs demands acknowledgment of violation of Articles 3, 10, 11, and 13 of the European Convention. Read more… Source: The website of the organization

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia studied the asset declarations of up to 45 officials in Tsageri and Lentekhi municipalities’ City Halls and City Councils and found that 15 had incomplete declarations. ‘It should be noted that according to Article 18 of the Law on Conflict of Interest and Corruption in Public Institutions if an official does not indicate an enterprise that has not had a turnover in the last 6 years, the Civil Service Bureau will not find a violation. Transparency International Georgia lacks the ability to check whether the companies mentioned in the research had a turnover or not. Accordingly, the study provides information on undeclared enterprises, and turnover verification is the prerogative of the Civil Service Bureau’, - we read in the information published by TI. Read more…  Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. TDI believes that regulations enacted by the Georgian government against Indian students are again discriminatory and contain signs of corruption as well. ‘Indian students studying at Georgian universities have not been able to return to Georgia from India for months. The restrictions for the prevention of the spread of coronavirus that is imposed on Indian students coming to Georgia are still disproportionate, unreasonable, and discriminatory, - is mentioned in the statement of the organization.  Read more…   Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. Fair Labor Platform responds to an initiative of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs of Georgia to use the assistance of the Labor Inspection Service and inspect the status of labor and wage rights of healthcare workers employed in the hospital sector. “Despite the delayed response from the agencies, we welcome this initiative and hope that it will be followed by effective steps resulting in improvement of working conditions of medical personnel”, - the platform states, - “The COVID-19 pandemic significantly worsened already tough working conditions of healthcare workers (especially nurses and attendants). In the circumstances of the pandemic, they appeared to be unprotected. According to data of “Georgian Trade Unions Confederation”, 23 nurses died of COVID-infection while on duty, and the named number reflects only the data available on their database. Both the state and private hospital sectors, which for years were focused on shifting the health care service from public good to business profit logic, confronted the coronavirus pandemic completely unprepared. This was especially evident in the personnel and labor policy”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge