Tbilisi. In relation to its 20th anniversary, the "Open Society – Georgia" Foundation summarizes activities implemented under its various programs. This time the Foundation has posted in the social network info-graphs of human rights projects implemented since 1999. The Foundation has funded 171 projects in this field. For the full text. Source: the organization's web page in the social network.

Tbilisi. Civil Society Organizations released a statement. "We are closely following the latest political developments in our country. ...Representatives of civil society cannot be indifferent and passive, given the fact that former Members of the Government have spoken about deliberate attempts to undermine Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration. We call on the Prime Minister, as well as the former Members of the Government, to hold a meeting and give us their assessments on the current situation", says the statement. For the full text Source: transparency.ge  

Tbilisi. Students of the School of Liberalism have conducted interviewing on "How do citizens view two years of the Government's work". The School has released a video of interviews in the social network. The interviews Source: the organization's page in the social network.

Tbilisi. Through Radio "Chocolate" and regional partner radios (Hereti, Old City, Adjara Radio), the Heinrich Boll Foundation offers to the audience the radio project "50 Women from Georgia". The audience will hear about women who lived in the 19th and 20th centuries and created Georgian culture and Georgian politics. Radio "Chocolate" will broadcast the program "50 Women from Georgia" on a daily basis. Source: web page of the Heinrich Boll Foundation in the social network.

Samtskhe-Javakheti. The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy has organized round tables with local  authorities in Borjomi and Akhaltsikhe. Meeting participants have discussed the need to come up with alternative forms of citizen participation, public self-government bodies and their powers, as well as obligations of a self-government unit, determination of a territorial area of public self-government and the status and procedure for setting up a public self-government. Source: isfed.ge

Imereti. The Kutaisi Regional Office of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy has hosted a monthly information meeting of local and regional CSOs. Meeting participants have discussed activities implemented by organizations. Apart from summarizing last month's activities, meeting participants have discussed events and other activities planned in November. Coordination meeting was attended also by the observers of the Zugdidi Office of the EU Observers Mission, the Advisor to the Kutaisi Municipality Mayor, Zurab Khurtsidze and the member of the Kutaisi Municipality City Council, Irma Petriashvili, Chairwoman of the Gender Consultation Council functioning with the City Council. Source: isfed.ge

Tbilisi. On October 31, the Public Defender held another public debate on the state of legal rights of persons with disabilities. The discussion also included persons with disabilities, their representatives and organizations working on these issues. The discussion appeared to be quite acute and mainly included involvement of persons with disabilities in the monitoring process, need to provide them with new programmes, strengthening of existing programme and pensions, the legal state of persons with disabilities.  The debate was moderated by head of the programme unit of the UN Development Fund Natia Natsvlishvili.

Kvemo Kartli. Deputy Director of the NATO and EU Information Center Tamar Medulashvili has met with the local population in Rustavi. Meeting participants have discussed Georgia's cooperation process with NATO and the EU. At the later discussion the participants have judged the results of the NATO Wales Summit and the importance of the Association Agreement. At the end of the event participants were provided with latest literature about NATO and the EU. The Rustavi Civic Engagement Center has hosted the meeting. Source: the organization's page in the social network.

Tbilisi. CSOs part of the "This Affects You, They Are Still Listening!" campaign welcome and thank the President of Georgia for his decision. "While vetoing the amendment the President had stated that "there is a consensus and firm position in our society about this issue. We must advance to a modern democratic form of functioning of special services". In the President's opinion, a total and unrestrained surveillance practiced by the authorities for years must be rejected", says the statement released as part of the campaign. CSOs part of the campaign urge the Parliament of Georgia and the Chairman of the Parliament to "... organize a meeting of the working group as soon as possible. Further, it is necessary to start a dialogue in the nearest future between different branches of power for the authorities to make a political decision on access by law-enforcement agencies to the citizens' personal information. Otherwise, we will once again face the reality in which drafting of relevant legislative amendments within the deadline will prove to be impossible". For the full text Source: isfed.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International – Georgia continues inquiring into "the appointment by the Ministry of Interior of its employees, the so-called "ODRs", in the state and other organizations". "During the Soviet times the Security Ministry used to appoint "ODRs" in various agencies. During the rule of Eduard Shevardnadze and Mikheil Saakashvili this practice was maintained and is practiced by the "Georgian Dream" after the 2012 parliamentary elections as well. In previous blog posts we were reporting about the employees working in the Georgian National Communications Commission and the Security Officers Unit of the Ministry of Interior. This time we would like to present information on additional three officers serving in other public institutions", says the blog posted on the organization's web page. For the full text Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. CSOs reacted to planned certification within the executive bodies of the Tbilisi Municipality City Hall."... CSOs believe that the certification process within the local self-government agencies must be carried out with maximum impartiality, in a transparent manner and without any bias, thus contributing to the lawfulness and fairness of the process. ... We would like to stress the fact that some CSOs have already approached the contest-certification commission with a request to observe the process. We once again urge the Tbilisi City Hall to carry out the certification process as transparent as possible and provide interested organizations with a possibility to observe", the statement says. For the full text Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) has released information titled: "Number of servants held liable for illegal wiretapping still unknown". In 2014, IDFI has approached the Ministries of Justice, Finance, Defense and Interior and requested information on the number of cases in 2009-2014, in which investigation had been launched based on the breaches of private communication secret, private correspondence, telephone conversation or any other form of notification. The Institute has released information received from the Ministries. For the full text Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. The Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information has released the October newsletter covering the activities and publications or studies released by the organization in October. For the full text Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. As part of the project for "Promoting additional Forms of Citizen Participation in Self-Government", the Consultations and Training Center (CTC) and the Community Development Center (CDC) launch meetings with local community organization on citizen participation in the self-government activities. Today, on October 31 the first meeting will be held in Mestia. Following Svaneti, meetings will be organized in Marneuli, Telavi and Tbilisi. This project is implemented by the "Open Society – Georgia" Foundation together with partner CSOs. The project aims to revise current participation mechanisms through maximum engagement and consultations with citizens, community and civil society organizations and local authorities, and to elaborate a draft law to be submitted to the Parliament of Georgia for consideration in December. As part of the project, CSOs will organize over 200 consultation meetings and round tables across the country. Source: web page of "Time for Self-Government".

Tbilisi. The Chairman of the Georgian Bar Association has released a statement concerning "unprecedented breach of rights of attorneys defending the arrested employees of the Ministry of Defense". For the full text Source: the organization's page in the social network.

Tbilisi. Georgian Young Lawyers' Association released a statement on the Case of the High-Level Officials of the Defense Ministry.  

Imereti. GYLA's Kutaisi Branch has hosted an information meeting on October 30 on "legislative package on secret surveillance adopted by the Parliament of Georgia and direct access to the mobile operators data. Chairman of GYLA's Kutaisi Branch Giorgi Chikaberidze has led the meeting. Representatives of the Kutaisi Office of the Public Defender of Georgia, Imereti-Kutaisi Bureau of the LEPL "Legal Aid Service", civil society and mass media, attorneys and the law faculty students have participated in the information meeting. Source: web page of GYLA's Kutaisi Branch in the social network.

Tbilisi. CSOs united under the "This Affects You – They Are Still Listening" campaign find it unacceptable the initiative of the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee, "which ... provides for extension of work of the working group for drafting legislative amendments on secret surveillance until April 2015. Failure of the group to make a final decision on the secret surveillance system is referred to as the reason of postponement, however, no sitting has been convened to make such a decision", says the web page of Transparency International - Georgia. Members of the campaign urge "the Parliament of Georgia not to uphold the initiative to extend the deadline". For the full text. Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Civil platform "No to Phobia!” addresses to the State Minister of Georgia on Diaspora Issues. "We would like to respond to the interview given by the Deputy State Minister of Georgia on Diaspora Issues to the Kviris Palitra newspaper on October 25. The interview contains apparent hate speech towards the head of NGO Identoba, Irakli Vacharadze, and a call for physical reprisals against him. ...We believe that such statements by a public official, the more so by a high-ranking political official, pose a serious threat to the country’s democratic development; they encourage intolerance to differing views and physical reprisals and serve to discredit the activities of NGOs", says the statement. For the full text Source: gdi.ge  

Tbilisi. Heinrich Boll Foundation has released a video recording of public discussion held on October 23 concerning the protection of personal life and the related risks. Speakers: Giorgi Mshvenieradze, Board member of the "Georgian Democratic Initiative"; Tamar Kaldani, Personal Data Protection Inspector; Zviad Koridze, journalist. Video recording. Source: the organization's page in the social network.

Kakheti. The Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information has organized a public discussion in Telavi on October 27 titled – "Control your government". The discussion was attended by representatives of CSOs, media and local authorities and aimed to share information with the region's youth, civil activists and bloggers concerning the techniques and advocacy of communications with local or central authorities.

Tbilisi. Representatives of ISFED and "Cida" have organized a press conference on October 28 about the project – "Promoting Additional Forms of Citizen Participation in Self-Government". This project aims to achieve maximum participation of citizens and representatives of the community and non-governmental organizations and local authorities, to revise current mechanisms of participation through consultations with them, and to develop a new draft law "on setting up additional forms of citizen participation", which will be submitted for consideration to the Georgian authorities in December. The project is implemented by "Open Society - Georgia" Foundation together with partner CSOs. Source: web page of "Cida" in the social network.