Tbilisi. The Human Rights Center expresses its concern over the rapid spread of the new coronavirus - COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia. “While according to current data, only 5% of population is fully vaccinated, and that is when the positive indicator of transmission of the virus reaches 6 to 8 percent per day. If the state ensures diversity in choices of European and American quality vaccines recognized by the World Health Organization, as well as takes into account the attitude towards vaccination (for instance, there are vaccines that require one-time vaccination), it will speed up the vaccination process to some extent. It is also important to properly disseminate information among public as trust in new types of vaccines is low due to the fact that they have not been tested over years and causes people to fear for the future. Besides, it should be considered that it was in Georgia in particular, where the case of death took place and obstructed the vaccination process leading to distrust in medical staff. Provision of access to registration for a vaccine technically is a crucial issue”. Read more… Source: www.hrc.ge

Tbilisi. Public Defender of Georgia publishes a special report: “The Administration of Justice on Crimes of Sexual Abuse and Sexual Exploitation of Children”.  “The study of Public Defender’s Office revealed that, State does not have services specifically focused on rehabilitation or provision of support to child victims of sexual abuse, which would allow relevant professionals to plan long-term work with both children and their families. The currently available state services are drastically inconsistent with the needs existing in the country”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Civil society organizations consider that the Government uses the State Security Service as a tool for total control. "The material related to activities of the State Security Service and broadcasted on the air of Mtavari Channel once again indicates the gravest practice of mass control and violation of human rights existing in the country. On the background of a fragile democracy and severe political crises, the State Security Service has emerged as a strictly politicized agency protecting interests of influential political figures, which attempts to retain political power of the particular group through surveillance, intimidation and blackmailing tools”, - is noted in the joint statement. Read more... Source: gyla.ge

More than 20 civil society organizations from 6 Eastern Partnership countries have joined a regional hub, established recently within the framework of CSO meter... More specifically, it has been established within the framework of a “CSO Meter: A Compass to Conducive Environment and CSO Empowerment” project as a regional association with common interests and is going to facilitate the exchange of experiences, knowledge, build new relationships, etc. The goal of the hub is to contribute to monitoring and advocacy processes taking into account international standards and best practices, which will help to create an enabling environment for civil society. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), and the Civil Society Institute (CSI) have joined the hub from Georgia. The project is implemented by organizations from Eastern European countries under the guidance of the European Center for Non-for-Profit Law (ECNL) and with the financial support of the European Union. Partner organizations are Transparency International in Armenia (TIAC), MG Consulting LLC (Azerbaijan), the Civil Society Institute (CSI, Georgia), Promo-LEX Association (Moldova), the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research (Ukraine).

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) sums up the second year of the Educational Certification Program in Fighting Corruption. “In 2021, the second academic year of the Educational Certification Program in Fighting Corruption has finished. The Program was implemented as part of the Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Programs at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of the Ilia State University. Within the scopes of the Certification Program two academic courses were offered on the Bachelor’s Degree, and two academic courses were offered on the Master’s Degree for students and the program participants who were selected via competition from other universities, different public, non-governmental and private sectors”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Rights Georgia publishes a blog post of Nana Mchedlidze: Protection of confidentiality of a journalistic source. “This blog post contains a review of European standards for protection of confidentiality of a journalistic source. Whether it is or not the right of a journalist to protect confidentiality of his/her source, the absolute right and what the measures are that may be followed by identification of a journalistic source”. Read more… Source: rights.ge

Mtskheta-Mtianeti. On July 30, in Saguramo, the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC) held a 5-year anniversary event of "Ialoni", the Saguramo Daycare Center for Children and Persons with Disabilities. Read more… Source: edec.ge

Tbilisi. UNDP publishes a methodological manual “Sustainable, Low Emission and Climate Sensitive Agriculture” designed for farmers and agricultural extension specialists. “It is based on scientific assessments of agriculture’s impact on climate change and the climate adaptation strategies developed for Georgia’s agricultural sector”. Read more… Source: www.ge.undp.org

Tbilisi. The Tbilisi office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation publishes an analytical article of Guram Imnadze in regard to the judicial system. “In the multi-year process of reforms, the court has rarely been perceived as a source of justice, a determiner of the content of justice and a guarantor of trust in the law. As a rule, the political dimension of court and the fact that we deal with an independent branch of government are neglected. Instead, the court is perceived as a body of technical administration of justice, while a judge is presented not as an interpreter of the law, but as a literal reading of it”. Read more… Source: ge.boell.org

Tbilisi. Organizations involved in Namakhvani HPP related meetings, called by the Energy Union, inform public about their opinion on the current process. “We, the signatory organizations appreciate the fact that during June-July we were given the opportunity to be involved in the process of development of a “technical assignment”, which should serve as a guideline for independent experts in the future. However, unfortunately, selection of experts based on the principle of professionalism and impartiality, mobilization of a reliable source of funding and creation of guarantees for parties and general public to trust this assessment process still remain a challenge and unfulfilled task”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. According to information released by EWMI-ACCESS, an Orbeliani Meti platform mobilized half of funds necessary to implement 6 projects through donations of citizens. While the second half of the total amount will be filled by “Orbeliani Georgia” via the EWMI ACCESS grant. “Very soon: A traveling library will visit high mountainous villages of Adjara and take children on a journey into the world of books. In the village of Apeni in Lagodekhi Municipality, young people will arrange an open movie theater. A room at one of the schools in Gori will be equipped with books and modern equipment. Environmentalists will turn yards in Rustavi and Tbilisi into urban squares, as well as teach gardening to children. 7R, a social enterprise, will create a new collection using secondhand fabrics and fabric leftovers so as to promote sustainable fashion”.                Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. The Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes a study: COVID-19 and the Georgian education sector. According to the assessment made by the organization: “Current value of losses caused by disruption of the learning process to the economy of Georgia is about GEL 55 billion. In 2020, 11% of teachers and students did not benefit from TEAMS, a distance learning program, at all. Despite risks of the COVID pandemic, 75% of students living in rural areas, while just 46% of those residing in cities returned to classrooms. According to our estimates, up to GEL 100 million is needed to provide computers and internet to socially vulnerable families in order to make sure they have access to the distance learning platform”... Read more... Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. President Charles Michel releases a statement on the political situation in Georgia. “I remain convinced that this agreement is the best way to advance a reform agenda which would strengthen the democratic institutions of Georgia and help bring about prosperity, jobs and growth - all much needed to the benefit of the people of Georgia. I see no alternative to continued in-depth electoral and judicial reforms, and free and fair local elections. I call on all parties to put the interests of the citizens first and to commit to advancing Georgia’s political discourse within the framework of the country’s democratic institutions. Consultations with a number of political actors in Georgia are starting. Yesterday I met with President Zourabichvili to discuss the situation and EU-Georgia relations”. Read more… Source: eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center introduces a document, which represents a methodological framework for examining all the structural factors that prevent people from accessing justice institutions. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. With the support of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, the Georgian Democracy Initiative, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, Social Justice Center, Rights Georgia and the Human Rights Center have launched a joint project – “Activists support network”. “A short-term goal of the project is to protect civil activists from unlawful persecution, which in turn provides more conducive environment to exercise civic activism as well as freedom of assembly and expression”. Read more... Source: The website of Rights Georgia on a social network

Tbilisi. A booklet reflecting principles of the new Labor Code has been prepared in the framework of the PIN-run project: “Advocacy for Labour Rights Action in Georgia”. “In the handbook “Fundamental Rights and Responsibilities of Employees and Employers”, the laws governing labor relations are set out in a plain and easily understandable language”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. TDI releases the report: The Legal Status of Migrants in Georgia - Amid and beyond the Covid pandemic. See full report in English… The report covers the period of January 2020 - May 2021. Main topics of the report: Migrants’ Rights and Challenges amid the Covid-19 Pandemic; Issues, legislation, and practice of obtaining a residence permit; State policy towards asylum seekers in Georgia; Problems of the State Security Service’s Competence to Investigate Crimes of Racial Discrimination; Statistics on the refusal of a state residence permit; Statistics on crimes committed with racial intolerance;  Read more… Source: tdi.ge

Tbilisi. According to information released by Myth Detector, Beka Vardosanidze, a blogger supporting Alt-Info, posted on Facebook, where he referred to a document published on a social network Telegram and wrote that among people infected with COVID-19 in the UK, the death rate of those vaccinated is higher than that of non-vaccinated ones. "The post of Beka Vardosanidze is misleading and does not provide the full picture of coronavirus infection and vaccination statistics in the UK. In reality, more than a half of those infected with COVID-19 during the last six months were unvaccinated, while the death toll of vaccinated people exceeded the mortality rate of those unvaccinated only within the 50+ age category, where the risk of death is higher due to characteristics of the virus”. Read more… Source: mythdetector.ge

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. The undersigned civil society organizations, would like to react to the statement by the Chair of the ruling party Georgian Dream, Mr. Irakli Kobakhidze, on the withdrawal from the EU brokered so-called “Charles Michel agreement” signed by the Georgian Dream on April 19. “We believe that this decision by the authorities constitutes a straightforward rejection of Georgia's Euro-Atlantic course and the peaceful development of the country through democratic reforms. The decision of Georgian Dream is a way to deepen the pre-election political crisis and polarization and only serves a desire to retain the power, for which the “Georgian Dream” is ready to sacrifice the country's prosperity, Western orientation, democratic development and friendly relations with strategic partners”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. On July 28, 2021, a Report on the Rights Situation of Aliens and Stateless Persons in Georgia was presented as part of the joint project of the Public Defender's Office and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “The report reviews the situation of aliens, including migrants, asylum seekers, internationally protected persons and stateless persons in Georgia and reflects the findings of the monitoring conducted by the representatives of the Public Defender of Georgia, as well as the positive trends and challenges identified during the monitoring”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Through USAID/Zrda support and initiative, a tour guide training program has been established and now takes its last step of the state authorization. Zrda also handed all the requires equipment to the partrer vet colleges. Vocatuonal Education programs last for several months and are aimed to deliver and develop the field specific competencies. The successful graduates will receive state approved certificates.                        Source: The organization’s page on the social network