Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) has reviewed a draft budget of Georgia for 2021. “In the circumstances when it is expected to encounter 6% decrease in the economy and mentioned decrease has not been observed historically at such a minimal level since the 1990s (even during the 2008 war), it is particularly important to know how adequate and flexible steps of the Government in the part of social assistance of population are going to be”. The main findings of the research are high risk of lack of tax revenues in the budget, increase of the national debt, increase of administrative costs, high rate of social expenditures... Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On December 8, 2020, the pre-session of the 3rd cycle of the UN Universal Periodic Review was held in a virtual format where the representatives of non-governmental organizations and the public defender’s office informed the Permanent Missions to the UN about the human rights situation in Georgia. The delegates also heard specific recommendations that are advisable to be received by Georgia from the representatives of respective countries. IDFI’s Head of Rule of Law and Human Rights Direction – Ketevan Kukava delivered a statement at the Pre-Session and highlighted the issues related to the administration of justice/fair trial and freedom of expression/access to information in Georgia. Ketevan Kukava also suggested specific recommendations that are necessary to be taken into account to eradicate existing shortcomings. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Georgian Democracy Initiative presents a report, which aims to provide a brief review of problems and challenges existing in Georgia in 2020 in terms of protection of human rights and freedoms. “The document contains a review of issues related to both civil as well as political rights and the rule of law. In the country, indicators of the degree of protection of both specific constitutional rights and the rule of law are primarily individual cases and developments, which reflect, on the one hand, the will and, on the other hand, the ability of the Government to fulfill its constitutional obligations. It is namely the review of individual cases/developments that a larger part of the document is devoted to”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: gdi.ge

Tbilisi. With the financial support of USAID/PROLoG, Ivane Javakhishvili State University has published a collection of 2020 articles – “Protection of human rights and democratic transformation of the state”. A collection of 2020 articles can be found here... Source: ewmi-prolog.org

Tbilisi. According to Government Defence Integrity (GDI) Index 2020, Georgia has received a score of 60 out of 100, placing it in the category of having a moderate risk of corruption in the field of defense.  In the document, published by Transparency International – Defence & Security (TI-DS) is said: "Georgia shares this risk category with 5 more countries from the Central and Eastern Europe region[1]: Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Bosnia, and Herzegovina and Northern Macedonia. Latvia has received the highest score – 67 (low risk) and Azerbaijan the lowest – 15 (critical risk)". Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. According to the appraisal of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, delegation of the authority by the Parliament of Georgia to the Government of Georgia to determine quarantine measures, leaving a number of vulnerable groups out of the anti-crisis plan of the Government, disregarding human rights in environmental decisions, appointment of judges of the Constitutional Court to their positions through non-transparent and unbalanced procedures, uncertainties in regard to publicness of criminal proceedings, carrying out the 2020 parliamentary elections with violations and other points were among problematic issues during the year. The organization positively appraises amendments made to the Labor Code of Georgia, which have somewhat improved labor rights of those employed. Read more… Source: gyla.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. The Children's hotline - 111, that was founded by UNICEF and the Government of Georgia, is strengthened further and from now hotline operators will support the children with disabilities and their parents on any problematic issues related to the COVID-19. Every case will be examined by the central online clinic of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs. Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Adjara. Today, the President of the Georgia Red Cross Society, Natia Loladze, visited Medical Association “Tana” to distribute clothes and sweets with Adjara’s First Minister of Healthcare, Ramaz Jincharadze. “The Batumi branch of the Georgia Red Cross Society is actively involved in different charity events. We were able to give presents to the children with the support of Ltd “LC Waikiki”. We will continue to support the members of the association in the future”- Natia Loladze. Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia releases a statement on International Anti-Corruption Day. “Although cases of petty corruption are still rare in Georgia, high-level corruption remains to be an unresolved problem, which is a significant factor hindering development of the country. ...Neither in past years and nor in 2020, the Government of Georgia has taken appropriate steps to eliminate shortcomings of the anti-corruption system, legislation and politics of the country".  The organization calls on the Government to take effective steps towards strengthening the role of the opposition, reformation of the judiciary system, ensuring independence of the Prosecutor's Office... Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes an article by Kamran Mammadli: Employment in the public service - Litmus test for a policy on ethnic minorities. “Despite declarative equality assumed in the country, systematic exclusion and structural oppression of non-dominant groups is most evident when it comes to employment in the public service. It should be emphasized that at the central government level, ministries, agencies or LEPLs are characterized by obvious mono-ethnicity. While the share of representatives of non-dominant ethnic groups employed at local self-governments is small compared to a percentage indicator of population living within respective self-governments”, - is stated in the article. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Pandemic-related restrictions and increased unemployment brought new challenges to vulnerable children and their families. To support the protection and realization of children’s rights in Georgia the EU and UNICEF launched a new three-year project. This joint initiative will ensure a safe and caring family environment for every child in Georgia and better access to child-friendly justice. Learn more here... Find out more about the Human Rights campaign here... Source: The EU’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. According to information released by the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, on December 7, the National Communications Commission published a statement and called on broadcasters to not transmit programs containing obscenity, otherwise it would apply the authority stipulated by law. “We consider that the Commission, referring on protection of rights of citizens, attempts to regulate broadcasters, authority of which is not granted to it by law. The Commission notes in the statement that it is possible to carry out a judicial review of a program containing obscenity, and since its decision is subject to a judicial review, it also has the authority to regulate the content of such a program. Mentioned reasoning of the Commission does not follow from either the “Law on Broadcasting” or the decision of the Constitutional Court that allows a judicial review of a program containing obscenity”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source:gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies publishes a blog post of Ani Zirakashvili, an intern of the organization: Energy policy of Russia in the Tskhinvali region. “As a result of the policy implemented in recent years, the Tskhinvali region, unlike Abkhazia, has become completely dependent on Russia in the field of energy. At this stage, due to the financial and technical support of Russia, gas and electricity are supplied to the Tskhinvali region only from Russia. The purpose of Moscow is to ensure energy stability of the Tskhinvali region on the basis of implemented and planned projects”. Read more… Source:www.gfsis.org

Tbilisi. Take a look at the study of TI about Openness and transparency of the Parliament of Georgia in 2015-2020.  A study of Transparency International Georgia contains an evaluation of achievements and challenges of the Parliament of Georgia in regard to openness and transparency from the date of signing the Declaration on Parliamentary Openness to the present day (April 30, 2015 - October 31, 2020). “Despite the fact that the Parliament has taken significant steps to improve transparency, there are still remaining a number of challenges in regard to access to parliamentary information, citizen engagement, and openness of parliamentary activities”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Together with international partners EU continues commitment to promoting the rights of women, children, minorities and displaced persons, opposing the death penalty, torture, human trafficking and discrimination and developing more inclusive societies. Stay tuned for announcements and stories about human right on social media channels and find out more at… Source: EU’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary responds to a draft decree, published on the website of the High Council of Justice on December 1, 2020, which is supposed to regulate the process of selection of Supreme Court judges in the Council. Organizations consider that the proposed rule will not formally ensure carrying out of an open and transparent process, besides, it will significantly restrict members of the Council from getting actively engaged in an interview process and posing questions to a candidate at their own discretion.  “We consider that all regulatory modifications in the judiciary system are superficial and can not qualitatively change the situation existing in the system”. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Kelly Degnan, the US Ambassador to Georgia, expresses her appreciation to Transparency International Georgia for its contributions to the electoral process. “Your commitment to meeting international standards will help build an electoral process Georgian voters can have confidence in. You have my sincere thanks for pursuing this challenging and vitally important work with such dedication and professionalism”, - writes the Ambassador. Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. The EU funded project Learn, Exercise, Achieve, Receive, Network for Employment! (LEARN for Employment!) aims at promoting an efficient transition model from education to the labor market largely supporting increased employment, social integration, and decreased poverty and vulnerability levels. “Within the project, 3,240 job seekers will gain the skills and knowledge necessary to apply to jobs in the open labor market; among them, at least 720 beneficiaries will participate in VET, on-the-job training, and internship programs, and a minimum of 50% of them will become employed”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. To mark the International Volunteer Day, Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC) will organize the Volunteer Week on December 7-14 within the EU funded project “Georgian Civil Society Sustainability Initiative”. During the week, animations about volunteering, posts about successful volunteer campaign initiators and infographics highlighting the major achievement within CSSIGE project will be published. Also, 5 cinema sessions will be arranged and online discussions with involvement of famous public figures will be held from December 10 to December 14. Read more… Source: The organization’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. From March to October 2020, to prevent spread of the COVID-19 infection and mitigate impact of the pandemic, the Open Society Georgia Foundation allocated funds up to USD 1.5 million. “Support, provided to address consequences of COVID-19, covered a number of directions, including protection of rights of workers, socio-economic assistance, empowerment of health care institutions and medical staff, update of ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and population of regions, free legal and psychological services for citizens, assistance of students during the process of online learning”, - is stated in the report of the organization. Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. The First International Congress on Deaf blindness in Georgia It is a great honor for us to invite you to the First International Congress on Deaf blindness in Georgia: "I can See and Hear through Touch" December 4, 5, 6 of 2020.  Registration is already opened… “Congress's goal is to raise the awareness of decision-makers and the public about deaf blindness and draw their attention to the importance of creating and implementing an adequate management standard for dual sensory loss. For three days, within the framework of planned lectures, discussions, and seminars led by Georgian and foreign experts in this field, the problems faced by deafblind people in Georgia and other countries will be discussed. It will also be an opportunity to exchange international experiences and best practices”. Read more…  Source: The organization’s page in the social network