Tbilisi. The Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes a blogpost: "Tkibuli strike went beyond labor protection and became a large-scale social protest”. ''The situation in Tkibuli and other industrial cities shows fundamental problems of the state labor policy, which is reflected especially on the legal status of individuals occupied in heavy industry'' - is stated on the web-page of the organization. In full… Source:emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. On 24 February 2016, the Public Defender of Georgia addressed the Government of Georgia, the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Corrections with a recommendation to study the fact of discrimination on grounds of citizenship and degrading treatment of a prisoner in the penitentiary institution N17. ''The Public Defender calls on the Ministry of Corrections and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Affairs to timely ensure involvement of the convict in the State Program on First Phase Measures for Management of Hepatitis C, as an exception, and to treat him with Sofosbuvir'', is noted in the statement.  In full... Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Yesterday the High Council of Justice made a decision to dismiss Mamuka Khvlediani from the position of the Tbilisi City Court Chair. The dismissal resolution referred to the case assignment decisions made by Mamuka Akhvlediani. The members of the High Council believe that Tbilisi City Court Chair ignored the will of the High Council of Justice and abused his power by assuming the Council’s authority. ''We believe that the Council’s decision to dismiss the Chair grossly violates the requirements of the law and contradicts clear and unambiguous procedures set in the legislation. The decision is beyond any legal logic and reveals the abusive and inappropriate application of the law by HCOJ. This decision violates the rights and legal interests of an individual judge. It may also have repercussions for the development of the judicial system, since this decision is not only directed against Mamuka Akhvlediani, but can also be interpreted as a notice to the judiciary to avoid critical statements in the future, because such statements will trigger the use of the similar mechanisms by the Council'', is noted in the statement.  In full... Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Georgian Young Lawyers' association releases statement on Magda Papidzes' case.  ''We would like to respond to the interim information released by the Georgian Prosecution Service about Magda Papidze’s criminal case. We believe that type and nature of the report, the terminology used and concrete evidence provided in detail is substantially limiting and harmful to the defendant’s rights. The information may also have a negative impact on future course of the proceedings'', is noted in the statement'', is noted in the statement.  In full... Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Non-governmental organizations respond to the constitutional amendments related to the marriage. ''Non-governmental organizations, undersigning the statement, respond to the initiative on the constitutional amendment related to the marriage and call on the Parliament not to support the constitutional amendment, proposed by political parties and various groups, which is inherently contrary to the ideas of freedom and equality of an individual. In our opinion, mentioned initiative represents a populist move that is mostly directed to gain the loyalty of the religious institution and of the majority in a pre-election period and will deepen the problems related to the discrimination and marginalization of LGBT individuals'' – is noted in the joint statement. In full… Source:emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. "Georgian Democracy Initiative” releases a newsletter for the month of January. The newsletter provides an overview of: the report of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe regarding the human rights situation in Georgia; the report of the Council of Europe regarding the situation of national minorities in Georgia ..." – is stated on the web=page of the organization. In full… Source:gdi.ge

Tbilisi. On February 15, 2016, First Deputy Public Defender Paata Beltadze met with Dubravka Šimonović, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences. The Special Rapporteur, who is paying an official visit to Georgia, familiarized with the vision of the Public Defender of Georgia and his recommendations on violence against women and domestic violence. ''During the meeting the sides focused on the issues of early marriage, domestic violence, killing of women and other forms of violence against women, as well as the state policies, institutional arrangement, and challenges in the field of services. Special attention was paid to the issue of effective application of protective measures, in particular, the importance of monitoring of the execution of restraining and protective orders as well as of repeated cases'', is noted in the statement.  In full... Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights House Tbilisi prepared a report Human Rights to the Regions – annual report about the state of human rights and basic freedoms in Georgia.  ''The Report revealed the violations of human rights of national and ethnic minorities, as well as violation of the rights of religious minorities. It is noteworthy that the Report pays particular attention to social issues, together with other human rights problems, and that the findings from the monitoring are vivid examples of how grave the human rights state is in the country today. The monitoring demonstrated that effective protection of human rights is also an issue'', is noted in the statement.  In full... Source: humanrights.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes a statement about the events developed in Zugdidi regarding the JSC "Metro Georgia”. "According to the position of "Transparency International - Georgia", any action, which is directed towards the separation of a new company from the market of common use and/or the infringement of the rights of already existing carriers via illegal intervention, should not be left without response by the investigative authorities. In the opinion of the organization the Ministry of Interior has not spent sufficient efforts to prevent straining the situation and obstructing the activities of the company "Metro Georgia"" – is stated on the web-page of the organization. In full... Source:transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender is extremely concerned over the decease of persons with disabilities in daily special facilities over the recent months.  ''It is necessary the relevant agencies of the Ministry to adequately respond to similar cases, to identify individual or systemic shortcomings and to take all possible measures in order to eradicate and prevent similar incidents in the future. At the same time, it is vitally important to strengthen internal monitoring and supervision mechanism for these types of facilities and to rule out possible conflict of interest'', is noted in the statement.  In full... Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. ''Transparency International – Georgia'' publishes a blogpost: ''Covert patrolling is against the human rights on private life, protected by the Constitution''. ''…Mentioned actions are actually taken in a simplified manner, which fact contains the following risks of violation of human rights, recognized by the Constitution, and abuse of power by the police…'' – is stated on the web-page of the organization. In full… Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender responds to the media reports on alleged violence against G.G. and A.C. committed on the grounds of ethnicity by law enforcement agencies in Akhmeta municipality on January 23, 2016.  ''The Public Defender reminds law enforcement agencies that the state clearly expressed its policy with regard to the hate crime, when it imposed responsibility for the crime and introduced a special definition. Accordingly, if the crime is committed by a representative of law enforcement agencies, the state is responsible to prove that this policy is not just a paper. The state must use law so that even slightest suspicion of selective justice is not left'', is noted in the statement.  In full... Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender responds to MP Gogi Topadze’s statement, made after listening to the President’s annual report at the parliamentary session on 3 February 2016, which contained stigma against people with Down syndrome. ''The Public Defender calls on every person in Georgia, especially high public officials, to refrain from making statements containing stigma and discriminatory attitudes against people with disabilities; moreover, to ensure equal protection of their rights and to strengthen activities for raising public awareness on the issue'', is noted in the statement.  In full... Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Public organizations call on the Parliament of Georgia to not pass the law, which considers administrative sanctions for insulting religious sentiments of believers. ''The debatable provision does not even contain the text, which, in the case of such public expression, would define the standard of existence of real and substantial threats of violence with the intensity, corresponding to the administrative offence. We believe that this type of legislative record will set an arbitrary and unjustified content related restriction on the freedom of expression and jeopardize free public debates within the society'' – is noted in the joint statement. In full… Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia has addressed the Prime Minister of Georgia to ensure equal realization of the rights of all persons legitimately living in the occupied territories and to allow the persons with neutral ID cards to get involved in the state program on hepatitis C.  ''Residents of the occupied territories belong to a particularly vulnerable category, which have to live in poor social, economic and human rights situation. Ambulatory centers and clinics are in poor conditions, the number of qualified doctors is low. The residents have to overcome a lot of barriers to cross the occupation line. The Public Defender considers that under the mentioned circumstances, Georgia has a positive obligation to protect the health and social rights of persons living in the occupied territories and provide medical care for everyone without distinction. The state must respect everyone's right to health and must not restrict equal access to health services for certain persons, especially for the most vulnerable categories'', is noted in the statement.  In full... Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Public Defender's Statement on the Death of Construction Worker: ''I offer my condolences to the family of the deceased and to the entire society. Even more unfortunate is the fact that despite many such cases, the state still does not take steps to create an effective labor inspection, which, first of all, would serve prevention of similar facts and would save lives and health of many people working in danger conditions'', is noted in the statement.  In full... Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Anti-Violence Network of Georgia publishes an article: "No to violence". ''The amendments to the existing laws against domestic violence have been prepared by the ''Anti-Violence Network of Georgia'' and the Parliament has already adopted them through the second reading. According to the proposal the amendments apply to the ''Local Self-Government Code'' and the law of Georgia on ''Elimination of Domestic Violence, Protection and Support of Victims of Domestic Violence'' – is stated on the web-page of the organization. In full… Source:avng.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition for Media Advocacy acts against establishing a radio-monopoly in the minibuses, working within the territory of Tbilisi, and releases the statement. ''We consider signing such an agreement by the municipal transport company unacceptable, because it sets actual radio-monopoly on the very broad segment of population and, thus, it is incompatible with democracy and the fundamental principles of human rights law: freedom of choice and the right of access to a variety of information, which have to be adhered and respected by all state agencies or municipal companies'' – is stated on the web-page of the organization. In full... Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. On January 25, 2016, the Public Defender's Office approved a new composition of the Special Preventive Group.  ''The Special Preventive Group is composed of specialists of various fields in order to ensure effective implementation of the functions of the National Preventive Mechanism. The group consists of 6 lawyers, 5 doctors, 2 experts in health issues, 2 psychiatrists, 6 psychologists, 5 social workers, 4 experts in discrimination issues (including 2 persons with disabilities) and 2 experts in juvenile justice issues'', is noted in the statement. In full... Source: www.ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes a report on the restriction of freedom of religion and the alleged discrimination on the religious ground. ''The aim of the present report is to share with the public the information about those cases, which have been managed by EMC and contain the facts of the restriction of freedom of religion or the alleged discrimination on the ground of religious affiliation'' - is stated on the web-page of the organization. In full... Source:emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. ''Georgian democracy initiative'' releases November bulletin, which collects important events of this month in terms of human rights. ''During the mentioned period, the case, related to Rustavi 2, has still been remaining a significant challenge. The bulletin also pays attention to the pressure on the constitutional court, performed by the representatives of state authorities. The bulletin touches upon the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, as well as the revision of human rights situation in Georgia within the framework of the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review'' - is stated on the web-page of the organization. In full... Source:gdi.ge

Tbilisi. On January 27, 2016, the Tolerance Center of the Public Defender's Office and the International Foundation "Lea" held an event dedicated to the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. At the opening of the meeting, representatives of the diplomatic corps, state agencies, international organizations and members of the Councils of Religions and Ethnic Minorities observed a minute of silence to honor the victims of the Holocaust. The participants of the event lit candles on the menorah and paid tribute to the 6 million Jews killed during the Holocaust, 2 million Romanies and all other victims of the Nazi regime. At the end, Rabbi Avimelekh Rosenblatt read a memorial prayer", is noted in the statement. In full... Source: www.ombudsman.ge