Tbilisi. How can Georgian business benefit from becoming ‘greener’? - Find out on the e-Cards produced with the support of the UNIDO and EU4Environment programme… Source: www.euneighbours.eu

In 2021, CSI began the implementation of the second phase of the CSO Meter project. The project – "CSO Meter: A Compass to Conducive Environment and CSO Empowerment" – responds to the following needs.: Apply CSO Meter monitoring to ensure incorporation of those standards and indicators that have an impact on an enabling environment, current or topical issue; Conduct a comparative analysis of civil society environments at both country and regional levels, assess progress or its interruption, and strive towards policy dialogue; Form an extended group of experts and organizations to use CSO Meter as both monitoring and evidence-based advocacy tools, thus facilitating the creation of an enabling legal environment and practices. Read more... The project - CSO Meter: A Compass to Conducive Environment and CSO Empowerment is implemented by organizations of Eastern European countries under the auspices of the European Center for Non-for-Profit Law (ECNL) and with financial support from the European Union. Partner organizations are 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).

Tbilisi. According to the National Preventive Mechanism Report 2020, patients of mental health institutions are not protected from violence, inhuman or degrading treatment. The cases of ill-treatment in mental health institutions are of various forms, scales and severity. Read more: National Preventive Mechanism Report 2020... Source: ombudsman.ge

Abkhazia. In May, USAID/Georgia representatives visited Georgia’s Abkhazia region, demonstrating the wide range of USAID assistance by visiting medical facilities, higher and vocational education centers, and small businesses. „It was the first U.S. Government visit to Georgia’s Abkhazia region since March 2019, providing a vital opportunity to demonstrate continued U.S. commitment for development in the region, and to counter the perception that people living in Abkhazia must depend on Russia for a stable and secure future“. Read more about the visit here... Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. In June 2021, within the framework of the International Child Protection and Environment Weeks, representatives of the Eastern and Western Georgia Divisions of the Public Defender's Office held webinars and meetings in Georgian, Azerbaijani and Armenian languages with public school students, teachers, parents, representatives of preschools and community centers in various regions of the country. They also participated in TV/radio programmes. The events covered Imereti, Samegrelo, Guria, Adjara, Svaneti, Shida Kartli, Kakheti, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti regions. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Based on the appeal of the Public Defender of Georgia, LEPL Agency for Regulation of Medical and Pharmaceutical Activities studied the arbitrary treatment of infants with the so-called "Mowgli method" and established illegal medical activity. The examination found that this method is an intervention that poses a risk to the life and health of children, which, especially at an early age, can lead to severe and irreversible complications. Administrative liability has been imposed on the person using this method. Read more... Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition responds to a competition of judges of the Supreme Court and addresses to the Government to conduct the process of election of judges. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary Calls on the Government to conduct the process of election of judges of the Supreme Court on the basis of a political consensus between the parliamentary majority and the opposition. Otherwise, not take a decision on this issue till the fundamental justice reform is carried out. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Samtskhe-Javakheti. The Public Defender is responding to the ruling of the Tbilisi City Court on the lawsuit filed by the Partnership for Human Rights, CSO, relating to the removal of minors from the Ninotsminda orphanage.  The Public Defender considers the immediate enforcement of the court ruling necessary. “The ruling, once again, clearly indicates the real risk and danger that exist in the institution in terms of the protection of children’s rights and requires timely and coordinated action by the state agencies. The Public Defender notes that the situation in the orphanage is not in line with the interests of minors or the relevant standards; the situation is dangerous in terms of the protection of children from violence, their full development, socialization and preparation for an independent life”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Imereti. Social Justice Center examined main demands of participants of the protest in Shukruti and reasons of their disagreement with the company, on the one hand, while on the other hand, circumstances, preconditioning this extensive social and environmental crisis, which preceded the protest in Chiatura Municipality. “Residents and representatives of the company assessed damage differently - in terms of both methodology and coverage of different types of damage. It is important to direct efforts of state agencies and knowledge of industry accumulated therein towards assessment of damage associated with mineral extraction as in case of specific owners, as well as in conjunction with the natural environment of the municipality as a whole. This intervention should be carried out in the form of elaboration of a common standard for damage assessment, which would position possible negative impact of the mining sector more sustainably, fairly and methodically in the area of regulation". Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary calls on the President of Georgia to take into consideration challenges that the judiciary faces, as well as the special role of the Constitutional Court and act in the spirit of the Constitution of Georgia. “On July 26, the term of office of Tamaz Tsabutashvili, a judge of the Constitutional Court of Georgia, expires. The new member of the court must be appointed by the President of Georgia and, according to legislation, the new member must be assigned within the period from June 26 to July 16. It is important to make sure that the President provides a transparent and inclusive process for selection of a member of the Constitutional Court, so that public has confidence in both the process and the candidate selected as a result of it”. Read more… Source: www.coalition.ge

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center (formerly EMC) responds to a statement of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia in regard to conducted studies about economic benefits of the Namakhvani HPP, which was released by the Ministry to confirm the existence of a cost-benefit analysis of the project. “The content of the statement of the Ministry confirms that at the stage of preparation of the project, the cost-benefit analysis of specifically the Namakhvani HPP project was not carried out, which fact is a gross violation of requirements of Georgian legislation. The organization calls on the Government and relevant agencies repeatedly to publicize the conclusion of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia on the Namakhvani HPP project and the cost-benefit analysis of the project immediately". Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. As the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) informs, on May 19, in the Parliament of Georgia, there was initiated a bill aimed at enforcing a decision of the Constitutional Court of Georgia regarding the case of “Giorgi Keburia v. Parliament of Georgia” and, following to this, bringing the criminal procedure legislation in compliance with the Constitution of Georgia. “The amendment, proposed through the bill, is not completely in line with the spirit provided by the Constitutional Court and, in general, executes the decision of the court technically. It is important to make sure that the bill, proposed to address existing structural and systemic shortcomings, is made more specific, provides more guarantees for defendants in terms of their rights, and equips law enforcement agencies with real opportunities to obtain “neutral evidences”, including video footages”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Member organizations of the “Coalition for Equality” consider that current developments, related to the Ninotsminda boarding school, are alarming and require immediate, strong response from the state. “So far, none of the agencies of the state has expressed its clear position in regard to continuing cases of alleged violence committed against minors and breach of the rights of the child taking place at the boarding school. Besides, the state has not established a democratic work process that would allow the Public Defender to perform monitoring of the situation related to the rights of the child at the boarding school. Moreover, representatives of the Government fail to make any statement regarding deinstitutionalization of large boarding houses and necessary reforms till now, which are important preconditions for protection of both dignified, as well as proper living environment and rights of children residing in these institutions”. Read more… Source: www.equalitycoalition.ge

Tbilisi. On June 2nd, 2021, USAID’s Promoting Integration, Tolerance, and Awareness (PITA) program, implemented by the UN Association of Georgia has been concluded with the Closeout Event, highlighting Program’s achievements throughout its six years of lifetime. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center (formerly EMC) responds to announcement of expression of interests in regard to the Namakhvani HPP project by the Ministry of Justice, according to which the Ministry will have to select an international law firm to evaluate the agreement. “We consider that this decision is one of those initiatives, by which the Government avoids to acknowledge the problem and tries to cover up agreement related existing main problems with illusory and fragmentary initiatives, which fact not only fails to shift the focus to real solution of the issue, but rather leads to prolongation of the conflict”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.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. Due to high public interest, the office of the Public Defender of Georgia releases a statement in regard to the current situation at the Ninotsminda Children’s Boarding School. “The office of the Ombudsman applied to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia requesting information about alleged criminal facts that took place at the Boarding School. According to information received, an investigation into four criminal cases on facts of alleged violence against minors has been launched in 2016-2021. There is currently an investigation ongoing into 3 cases of alleged violence (Article 126 of the Criminal Code) and one case of alleged rape (Article 137 of the Criminal Code). So far, the office of the Ombudsman does not have detailed information about facts of alleged violence, people and circumstances involved, as well as measures taken and ongoing. The office of the Public Defender has already applied to responsible agencies to clarify the issue”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. On May 27, 2021, Ketevan Shubashvili, Head of the Equality Department of the Public Defender's Office, participated in the Kyiv International Online Forum on Roma Inclusion, which was supported by the European Union and the Council of Europe. She spoke about the problems facing the ethnic Roma population of Georgia. At the end of the meeting, participants supported a resolution calling on the responsible institutions of the counties participating in the forum to protect the rights of the Roma people due to their difficult socio-political situation, and urging national human rights institutions and equality bodies to be involved in the relevant legislative and political processes. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Another project - “Senior generation portal”, funded within the framework of a grant competition – “Innovative social ideas in response to COVID-19”, announced by the Center for Training and Consultancy, has been completed. “”Senior generation portal” is the first website working on elderly related issues and operated by Fund Taoba. Within the framework of the project, Fund Taoba has created a Facebook page and a web portal - www.taoba.org.ge, which cover all those important issues that elderly people are interested in. The site is going to help elderly people, caregivers and/or representatives of other generations, interested in aging related issues, to obtain information on such matters as healthcare and social services, medical services, legal rights, psychological support, as well as prevention and management of various diseases”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Tbilisi. On June 1, the Human Rights Center submitted a legislative proposal to the Parliament of Georgia. “The legislative proposal is concerning amendments to be made to the Code of Administrative Offenses of Georgia. According to these changes, court reviewing a case of administrative offenses will also assess legality of detention of an accused”, - is stated on the website of the organization on a social network. Read more… Source: The website of the organization on a social network

Imereti. From the very first days, the Public Defender has been monitoring the events developing in the village of Shukruti, Chiatura municipality, where locals demand fair compensation for the property damaged by the ore mining works carried out by the Georgian Manganese Ltd. The affected citizens also demand the involvement of the State in the process. Given the difficult situation, the Public Defender of Georgia calls on the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development to engage in the negotiations between the Shukruti population and the company as a mediator in order to to protect the citizens' property rights and allow them to live in a healthy environment. The Public Defender continues to study the case in the context of the right to live in a healthy environment, as well as the alleged pressure exerted on one of the protesters. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes a report: Access to public information in Georgia 2020. “The organization considers that in 2020, the most closed public institutions were the administration of the Government of Georgia and the entire system of the Ministry of Justice. Out of 6 258 requests sent to 285 public institutions in 2020, IDFI received replies on 5 000 applications (80%). The vast majority of public institutions (30%) left the request unanswered or refused to provide contracts signed with those employed in advisor, expert and consultant positions. In 2020, 19 public institutions released public information in full and complying with a deadline of 10 days. Among them were: State Inspector’s Service, Public Defender’s Office, National Statistics Office, and Department of Roads”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: idfi.ge