Tbilisi. Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association releases the statement related to the International Children’s Day. June 1st is International Child Protection Day. This date reminds us once again of the need for the state to take measures that are in the child's best interests and serve to protect the children's right to life, health, education, development, and dignified life. The existence of complex and effective mechanisms to ensure the protection of their rights to a high standard is important for protecting children's rights. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Nino Lomjaria, the Public Defender of Georgia, releases a statement in response to June 1, the International Day for Protection of the Rights of the Child. “On this important day, I would like to assure all children living in Georgia that the Public Defender will always be by their side and protect their rights. Today, when many children live in poverty and experience violence, health, education and development related needs are neglected as never before, it is important to make sure that celebration of this day goes beyond the symbolic burden, while the state takes effective steps to protect their rights. In Georgia, we have been facing the most serious cases of violation of the rights of the child over the years, which fact is mostly related to inefficiency of support services, delayed response of the state, and shortcomings in social and child care programs. Public attitude towards facts of violation of the rights of the child is still uneven, and children are often exposed to violence. So far, responsible agencies do not provide prompt identification of facts of violation of the rights of the child, proper response and support to minors in accordance with their needs”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. In March-April 2021, the German Embassy, the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (‘GYLA’) and the Council of Europe Office in Georgia co-organized an online conference entitled “Georgia - The Future of Democracy”. In the framework of the conference, four sessions were held: 1. “What is democracy? How can we measure it and evaluate its progress?” (April 29); 2. “Thirty Years of Democratic Development in Georgia - Achievements and Challenges” (May 6); 3. “Where does Georgia stand now? What needs to be done in the future?” (May 13); 4. “Responsive Government” (May 20).  Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center (formerly EMC) releases a statement in response to the professional day of policeman. “It is pity that regardless passage of more than 30 years since obtaining independence, the state has failed to establish a depoliticized, community-oriented and highly trusted law enforcement system that would provide an important basis for protection of human rights, building a peaceful and inclusive social environment, and supporting democratic processes. Reforms, introduced within the police system at different times, were mostly distinguished with their fragmentary and superficial nature. Institutional changes, made in the system, were often peripheral and illusory, rather than fundamental reforms and formation of a democratic and effective police system. As a result, despite numerous reforms carried out within law enforcement agencies, police is not still an essentially politically neutral institution having high accountability and public confidence”, - is noted in the statement of the organization. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. On May 29, in the scope of the "Youth for Regional Development" project, schoolchildren of Zarzma Children’s Academy attended the lecture on "History of the Western Road of Georgia". The discussion was conducted by Irakli Chkhaidze, Assistant Professor at Tbilisi State University. The aim of the project is to enhance civic consciousness and increase civic activism among schoolchildren from Adigeni and Akhaltsikhe municipalities. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Social Justice Center (formerly EMC) responds to an incident occurred between police and protesters during a rally held by guards of the Rioni valley at the police checkpoint in the village of Gumati, which resulted in detention of 8 participants of the rally. The organization calls on the Government to start a dialogue with organizers of the protest rally in a timely manner and lift unjustified police restrictions that are still in force in the valley. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. Non-governmental organizations release a joint statement in regard to the Conference of Judges conducted on May 26. “On May 26, the Conference of Judges elected four judge members of the High Council of Justice for a four-year term, thus completely ignoring the call of international partners and non-governmental organizations, and further strengthening positions of the clan that is predominant in the judicial system”. We, the signatory organizations call on: - the Parliament of Georgia to start working on a fundamental reform of the justice system in a timely manner and ensure an inclusive, political, and public consent-based discussion process for this purpose; - the international community to actively engage in the judicial reform process and take specific actions against all those groups, which hinder the establishment of an independent justice system in Georgia”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Samtskhe-Javakheti. CENN, with the Support of the EU and in partnership with Ninotsminda Youth Center, launched an Innovative Knowledge Hub in Ninotsminda Municipality. „The goal of the Innovative Knowledge Hub is to empower young people at the local level and promote their social and green entrepreneurship development. The Innovative Knowledge Hub is a youth workspace that will be accessible to young people living in Ninotsminda Municipality. The Hub will periodically host environmental and youth campaigns, and beneficiaries will also have the opportunity to meet with representatives from various fields and hold public discussions“. Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Adjara. UNICEF in partnership with the National Centre for Disease Control and the Ministries of Health and Education of Adjara organized the informational session in Adjara region for the local teachers and medical personnel. The meeting was led by prominent health experts and representatives from the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, and aimed to inform about COVID-19 vaccination. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On April 22, 2021, the citizen of the Islamic Republic of Iran contacted “Rights Georgia” and asked for legal support in application process for the work residence permit. On April 23, 2021, with “Rights Georgia’s” legal assistance the beneficiary submitted the application for the work residence permit to the Public Service Development Agency (PSDA). On May 21, 2021, as a result of the” Rights Georgia’s” legal assistance the PSDA satisfied the application and issued the work residence permit for the Citizen of the Islamic Republic of Iran H.S. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. As Myth Detector informs, on May 26, Facebook activated new mechanisms against those sharing disinformation repeatedly to notify users of its platform about disinformation content.  “Whether it is fake or misleading information about COVID-19 and vaccines, climate change, elections or other topics, Facebook will spend more efforts from now on to make sure comparatively less users find similar disinformation in their application”. Read more… Source: mythdetector.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC), based on the appeal of the Public Defender's Office, examined the programme aired by Alt Info Ltd and found that the programme seriously harmed both juvenile and adult viewers. According to the decision of the Commission, administrative responsibility was imposed on Alt Info Ltd for violating the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Read the Brief Overview of Recent Developments in the Field of Personal Data Protection published by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information. “This report evaluates the state of the art and progress in implementing the main priorities of the Association Agenda and HR Action Plan related to personal data protection. It also summarizes the significant developments and challenges, identifies possible drives for change, and provides recommendations on the most pressing issues related to data protection”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

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Tbilisi. The Social Justice Center believes that the conclusion of the Ministry of Justice verifies that by signing the Namakhvani agreement the Government gave upstate interests. As the Social Justice Center informs, the conclusion of the Ministry of Justice highlights problematic nature of those specific issues, which have become the subject of intense criticism of the organization right after publicizing the agreement, and demonstrates extreme imbalance of interests of the state and the private company under the agreement. Taking into consideration the extremely high public interest, the Social Justice Center demands to immediately make public the following: “Version of the agreement, which the Ministry of Justice of Georgia referred to while preparing its conclusion; Conclusion of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia; Cost-benefit analysis of the project; Explanatory statement of the Ordinance of the Government of Georgia of April 23, 2019 (by which the agreement on Namakhvani HPP was approved), together with full materials of administrative proceedings”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes a study: One year of the de facto state of emergency in Georgia and human rights during the pandemic. According to the study, “The Parliament fails to perform an effective control of executive authorities during the pandemic. The curfew does not meet the principle of proportionality. There are questions as to how effective the curfew is in terms of persuading population to stay at home. More than 100 000 fines have been imposed for violation of COVID regulations. About 60 000 of them are unlawful. The amount of fines exceeds GEL 50 million. The process of introduction and enforcement of COVID regulations raises increased risks of violation of fundamental human rights”… Read more… Source:idfi.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) considers that the election of judge members of the High Council of Justice is an internal clan rotation. “Main challenge for the justice system today is clan governance and its alliance with the Government. Observation of this process over the years shows that it is mainly carried out in a non-competitive environment and, as a rule, results in electing leaders of an influential group of judges to the Council, most of whom hold or have held managerial positions for years. Elections are associated with renewal and new perspectives, however, in this case, expectations are groundless”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source:gyla.ge

Imereti. Local Democracy Agency Georgia (LDA Georgia) is implementing the project "Increasing the Quality of Citizen Involvement in Local Self-Government" in eleven (11) municipalities of Imereti region (Baghdati, Zestaponi, Samtredia, Vani, Khoni, Tskaltubo, Sachkhere, Chiatura, Kharagauli, Terjola, Tkibuli). Within the framework of the project, training was conducted with the members of the Civic Advisory Council of the Mayor of Kharagauli Municipality. Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. The Dean of the Department of Social and Political Sciences of Tbilisi State University (TSU) considered the appeal of the Public Defender's Office and replaced homophobic literature with other textbooks.  The Public Defender’s Office, on the basis of the application of the Equality Movement, studied the mandatory literature of the elective discipline of political culture of the Department of Social and Political Sciences. The study revealed that the educational material contained homophobic content. The Public Defender’s Office appealed to the administration of the department and as a result of constructive cooperation with the Dean, the discriminatory educational material was removed from the mandatory literature. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Georgia is preparing a national strategy for low-emission development. „The strategy will focus on transforming the economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and will include specific low-carbon development scenarios for key sectors. The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture is taking the lead in this effort with support from the European Union in Georgia and UNDP Georgia. The EU and UNDP assistance draws on the EU-funded #EU4Climate programme“. Read more…  Source: The webpage of the organization

Tbilisi. The EU and UNDP helped Georgian Parliament create a textbook for schoolchildren, offering an entertaining way to learn about parliament, parliamentary tradition, and citizen engagement in decision-making. Next year, it will be piloted in 50 public schools in Tbilisi and eastern Georgia. On 22 and 23 May, public school teachers took a training course, designed to help them make full use of a new textbook and learn about civic education methodology. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) prepared the Research - „Judicial System Reform in Georgia (2013-2021) “. “The purpose of the document is a systematic analysis of the judicial reform strategy and dynamics developed during the ruling of the Georgian Dream. The research assesses the significant reforms implemented in the Common Court System during 2013-2021, the dynamics of transformations and their impact on existing challenges. The document consists of three parts. The first assesses the general court administration system, the managing collegial bodies as well as the institutions within the court; The second discusses the career of a judge and their disciplinary issues; The third part concentrates on the analysis of the guarantees significant for the individual independence of the judges as well as the management of different courts”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: gyla.ge