Tbilisi. According to the statement of the Coalition for Independent and Transparent Judiciary the Selection of Candidates for the Supreme Court Judges is Arbitrary and Unfair. “For many years, the High Council of Justice, as well as the self-governing body of the common courts, has been operating in the face of such public sentiment and criticism. As a result, fairness, impartiality, and independence of their decisions are constantly questioned. In this context, it is not surprising that despite several waves of reform and constant legislative/institutional change, the judiciary has failed to be perceived by the public as a truly independent and just institution. The process of selecting judges of the Supreme Court was also conducted in this environment. The observation of the process has once again revealed that without fundamental changes in the High Council of Justice and the judiciary as a whole, all important processes (especially the appointment of judges) go through the same circles of mistrust, cronyism, and clan-based power. Consequently, without initiating radical changes in the justice system, any further process will fail to provide an escape from this circle”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.coalition.ge

Tbilisi. The whistleblowers protection day is being celebrated on June 23th. “The whistleblowers' institute is of key importance in the fight against corruption, especially the high-level corruption.  Unfortunately the level of awareness about the mechanism of whistleblowing in Georgia is very low and its use is virtually non-existent. Read more about the identified challenges and recommendations issued by IDFI on the issue" … Source: idfi.ge

Expansion of the CSO Meter – a tool for monitoring of an enabling environment of civil society organizations is intended. More than 800 Eastern European organizations participated in development of the instrument. We remind you that this tool is based on international standards and covers 10 different areas and indicators that are used to measure an enabling environment of CSOs in terms of both legislation and practice. CSO meter is divided into 2 main parts: 1. Fundamental rights and freedoms, which constitute the basis of existence of civil society. 2. Necessary conditions, which provide additional support and are important for development of civil society. There are prepared regional reports on the basis of it, including those about Georgia. In Georgia, the study is carried out by the Civil Society Institute (CSI) in cooperation with the European Center for Non-for-Profit Law (ECNL). As mentioned above, it is intended to refine the tool in the near future. In particular, ECNL, together with the Civil Society Institute and other partners, plans to add a system for evaluation of scores to the tool. This will allow interested individuals and parties to compare results of the study by years, areas, countries. Besides, there will be expanded the area of the study of the tool in coming years - for example, evaluation of an influence on civil groups through digital technology or artificial intelligence. It is also planned to expand the CSO Meter as a means of monitoring, as well as circle of users - CSOs and activists in target countries. New initiatives and changes will be carried out within the framework of the project – “CSO Meter: A Compass To Conducive Environment And CSO Empowerment”. It is implemented by the European Center for Non-for-Profit Law (ECNL) with financial support from the EU and in collaboration with partner organizations: Transparency International - Armenia (TIAC); MG Consulting LLC (Azerbaijan), the Civil Society Institute (Georgia), Promo-LEX Association (Moldova), the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research (Ukraine).

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 information released by the Women's Movement, on June 21, while reviewing the bill on amendments to the “Election Code of Georgia” of the Organic Law of Georgia through the second reading, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Georgia substantially changed the rule of compiling party (proportional) lists for local self-government elections. As a result of the amendment a political party will be required to compile a party list for all local self-government elections, to be held until 2028, so that at least one out of three candidates is a representative of a different sex. According to the organization, this initiative substantially deteriorates the existing norm of the Electoral Code, which obliges a political party to have every second candidate of a different sex on its list submitted for general elections of local self-government bodies, to be held until 2028. Part of civil society organizations calls on the Parliament not to support the initiated amendment at the plenary session since it is going to weaken representation of women at the local level, hinder achievement of essential equality and fulfillment of international commitments. Read more… Source: The website of the Women’s Movement on a social network

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) publishes a study – “Government in ordinary and emergency situations – non-transparency, unpreparedness and prescriptions”. “While working on the document, there have been revealed shortcomings at both operational and normative levels of activity of the Government. As it turned out, Georgia was unprepared to declare a state of emergency not only in terms of legislation, but also with regard to epidemiological matters, which made declaration of a state of emergency and interference with human rights in an intensive and undesirable manner inevitable”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Civil society organizations call on the Government of Georgia to enhance its political and diplomatic efforts so as to set Zaza Gakheladze, detained in Tskhinvali, free and develop a more effective policy for the protection of human rights within occupied territories. “Unfortunately, human rights policy in conflict regions is not properly institutionalized and prescribed in our country. Besides, despite a long-standing experience in conflicts, we still do not have international mechanisms enacted in conflict regions that would serve as an effective tool for monitoring a human rights-related situation, as well as for response and prevention. The resource of communication and negotiation with de facto governments is not properly envisaged in the policy for the protection of human rights, whereas it would be a format for regular dialogue and work on issues related to human rights, security, and humanitarian assistance”, - is noted in the joint statement. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Center for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia (CSRDG) publishes a video on the model and importance of Community Foundation. “Community Foundation is a successful model established by civil society organizations around the world, which aims to improve the quality of life of people living in a certain geographical area and, along with various other activities, provides grants. We will try to supply you with information about Community Foundation, the world-wide-tested model, its characteristics, existing international experience, and interesting resources step-by-step”. Source: The website of the organization on a social network More (GEO)

Tbilisi. The Human Rights Center made a presentation of a report – “Coronavirus Pandemic - Free Legal Assistance and Human Rights Monitoring”, prepared within the framework of a project “Free Legal Advocacy and Human Rights Monitoring after the COVID-19 Pandemic”. The Human Rights Center implemented the project in Tbilisi and five regions of Georgia (Shida Kartli, Kakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Imereti and Samegrelo) with the support of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Georgia. Read more… Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. This paper has been drawn up within the framework of common platform created by the Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) and the Good Governance Initiative (GGI) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This publication was made possible with the support from the American People provided through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Responsibility for the content of the publication lies with the Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) alone and it does not reflect the views of the USAID or the Government of United States. Read more… Publication… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. Rights Georgia and Social Justice Center (formerly EMC) have learned that health of Irakli Bebua, detained in Abkhazia, is in danger. “Organizations call on state agencies to make sure that the issue of Irakli Bebua, a citizen of Georgia detained in Gali, Abkhazia, is discussed within the format of the Geneva International Discussions scheduled for June 29-30 and that all diplomatic and political measures are taken to return Bebua to the Georgian-controlled territory. Irakli Bebua was arrested in Gali district on September 30, 2020 for setting the Abkhazian flag on fire. In the video, reflecting the fact, Bebua states that he has burned the flag deliberately because he does not like celebration of September 27 - the day of fall of Sokhumi solemnly in Abkhazia and “would like Georgians and Abkhazians to be brothers”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary releases the statement: A New Perspective on Judicial Reform. “Now, when the frustration with the outcomes of the judicial reforms is clear, there is a need for radically changing the reform strategy. The steps to be taken should be aimed at a consensus-based management of the judiciary. The reform should also create solid obstacles to the concentration of power”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. EU awards grants to 12 youth start-up projects to promote social entrepreneurship in Georgia within the framework of the EU4Youth initiative project "Social Entrepreneurship in Armenia and Georgia". The grants signing ceremony with the first seven winning young social entrepreneurs took place at the venue of one of the winning project, the social café “Cafune” in Rustavi. The project aims to provide creative young people from Armenia and Georgia with the necessary knowledge and skills and a unique opportunity to develop existing or establish new sustainable business with a clear social mission. Read more… Source: eeas.europa.eu

Adjara. On June 15, the young volunteers, the members of the Youth Center established at the Independent Journalists’ House (IJH) participated in arrangement and implementation of the large-scale Job Fair in Batumi. “The volunteers successfully managed the flow of the job seekers, ensured that all Covid-19 regulations were followed and informed the participants about the fair. We would like to express our appreciation toward each volunteer for their contribution and wish them success in all of their future endeavors”. Read more… Source: edec.ge

Tbilisi. Since 2017, there has been a deteriorating trend in the treatment of persons detained both for administrative offences and criminal charges. Read more: National Preventive Mechanism Report 2020... 26 June is International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. A civic platform “No to Phobia!”, Coalition for Equality and other civil society organizations condemn homophobic statements made by representatives of Georgian Dream. “Organizations respond to statements made by Irakli Kobakhidze, Chairman of the ruling party, and Davit Sergeenko, a member of the same party and Deputy Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, in regard to a pride parade scheduled by “Tbilisi Pride” and partners for July 5. We, the signatory organizations, condemn statements made by Irakli Kobakhidze and Davit Sergeenko as those of a homophobic nature and encouraging discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation and gender identity, which is contrary to constitutional and international standards of human rights”, - is noted in the joint statement. Read more… Source: tdi.ge

Tbilisi. The European Court of Human Rights has started substantive review of complaints filed by the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association and EHRAC on behalf of journalists and demonstrators affected on June 20-21, 2019. “In particular, the court addressed the Government of Georgia, as the respondent state, with relevant questions regarding cases of Bagashvili and others v. Georgia as well as Kurdovanidze and others v. Georgia. Besides asking questions about violation of rights, the European Court satisfied a request of lawyers of GYLA and ordered the Government of Georgia to submit materials of the criminal case carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office in connection with dispersal of the June 20-21, 2019 rally”, - is stated on the website of GYLA. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Samtskhe-Javakheti. According to the information of the Transparency International Georgia Four persons convicted for violations in the state procurements and unlawful misappropriation of budget funds received GEL 7 442 197 from 80 state procurements.  Recommendations: “Receiving millions of GEL from public procurement by people convicted of corruption contradicts both the best international practice in the field of procurement and the recommendations of Georgia's partner international organizations. The Anti-Corruption Network of Eastern Europe and Central Asia and the Council of Europe advise Georgia to limit the participation of persons involved in corruption in government procurements and to extend these restrictions to both the company and the owners of the company. Amendments to Georgia's public procurement legislation should be introduced as soon as possible, restricting companies and their owners convicted of corruption participating in public procurement for at least a period of time until their convictions are disclaimed. In Public procurement, contractors should be prohibited to use the companies as subcontractors, whose owners have been convicted of corruption or fraud”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. A civic platform “No to Phobia!” condemns a statement made by Tea Darchia, considering it as Islamophobic and encouraging discrimination on the ground of religion. “The statement of Tea Darchia stirs up stereotypical perceptions related to the point that a Georgian can only be Orthodox (“there is nothing Georgian in them anymore”). Those particular attitudes contribute to discrimination on the ground of religion and religious conflicts in society. In such circumstances though, journalists have a special responsibility not to become facilitators of dissemination of stereotypical perceptions”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.gdi.ge

Tbilisi. The USAID Independent Living Program in Georgia is pleased to inform you that six Independent Living Centers have begun operations in Lagodekhi, Telavi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Ozurgeti, and Batumi. “The centers will assist persons with disabilities to achieve and maintain independent living by helping them to access information, resources, and services, overcome social, psychological and physical barriers, and by linking them and local municipalities with service providers”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. UNICEF Representative in Georgia, Ghassan Khalil met with the Public Defender of Georgia, Nino Lomjaria. “The participants discussed the following issues: ▪️ Ongoing events related to the Ninotsminda Institution, UNICEF position and plans to end the institutional care for children in Georgia; ▪️ Monitoring of sexual violence against children by Public Defender with support of UNICEF and the relevant report; ▪️ Ongoing Child Rights Impact Assessment of COVID-19; ▪️ ongoing cooperation and joint initiatives”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Part of civil society organizations releases a statement: The High Council of Justice continues to take damaging steps for the judiciary. “On June 17, there takes place a sitting of the High Council of Justice, where a decision on up to 100 vacancies of judges is going to be made. Out of them, 9 candidates for judges of the Supreme Court will be presented to the Parliament today. Taking HR related decisions of such importance at an accelerated pace without implementation of in-depth judicial reforms is extremely detrimental to interests of the judiciary. We consider that actions of the Council may raise the issue of legitimacy of judges, appointed under these conditions, in the future”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: transparency.ge