Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) calls on the Parliament of Georgia to timely review an initiated package of amendments to the Labor Law, which, despite a number of shortcomings, envisages substantial guarantees for rights of workers. Read more…  Source:emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes a blogpost on amendments in the legislature of the Russian Federation during Covid-19. “Due to the Coronavirus epidemic, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin has postponed a vote on the constitutional amendments, which was scheduled on 22 April 2020, to an unspecified future date. However, meanwhile, the legislative body of the Russian Federation (Duma) managed to initiate a number of legislative amendments that, according to independent researchers, lawyers and opposition politicians, further restrict already restricted human rights”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. As a part of this process, the first rural development Advocacy Manual in Georgia “Advocacy for Sustainable and Inclusive Rural Development” has been produced with the EU and UNDP Georgia support. “The document is intended to equip local community members with practical knowledge and instruments to advocate for the local needs-based policies and actions in their respective municipalities”. Read more… Source: EU’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. Signatory organizations and activists respond to June 14, the day for protection of rights of people with disabilities in Georgia, and call on the Government to establish strong legislative or institutional mechanisms to support people with disabilities as well as to ensure their effective engagement in public life. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) responds to an industrial incident that took place on June 9 in Tkibuli and threatened lives of 22 miners. The organization calls on the state to urgently investigate both the occurred incident and current situation in mines and to not allow coal mining to continue in a life-threatening environment. “The incident that took place on June 9, which became known two days later, is connected to the elevator, so called “Klet”, descending into the mine. The elevator went out of order and kept miners in the shaft for several hours. Those employed to work in the shaft refuse to enter it until relevant inspection is performed and the elevator is repaired. It should be emphasized that refusing to work in a hazardous environment is their guaranteed right stipulated by the Labor Code”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC), on the order of Transparency International Georgia, conducted a public opinion survey within the period from February 27 to March 18, 2020.  “Majority of those inquired have heard about Facebook pages created to spread fake information. A large part of the population also thinks that the Government interferes in media activities. Fighting against misinformation in social media is one of the biggest challenges. In Georgia, this problem intensifies particularly in a pre-election period, when political forces, most actively the ruling party among them, use fake pages to discredit their opponents, and not only them” – is stated on the website of the organization.  Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) still continues to provide legal assistance to those affected by the June 13 disaster and defends their rights in court.  “On the example of cases under proceeding of GYLA, there have been revealed shortcomings in work of state agencies before, during and after the disaster, besides, it has been found that actions of state agencies were untimely and ineffective”, -is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center offers an overview of the report published by the United States Department of State on June 10 about freedom of religion in Georgia. “While describing a common legal status, it is emphasized in the report that in Georgia the freedom of religion is guaranteed and persecution on religious grounds is prohibited by the Constitution. At the same time, it is noted that the Constitution of Georgia recognizes the special role of the Georgian Orthodox Church and the relationship between the state and the Church is regulated on the basis of the Concordat. It is stated in the report that the Concordat gives the dominant religious organization such privileges that other organizations do not have”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

According to European Commission’s report the coronavirus pandemic has been accompanied by a massive wave of false and misleading information, attempts by foreign actors to influence domestic debates in the EU, breeding on the fertile ground of people’s most basic anxieties and the rapidly changing news cycle.  Misleading healthcare information, dangerous hoaxes with false claims conspiracy theories and consumer fraud endanger public health. False or misleading information around coronavirus can damage societal cohesion, but above all, it is a threat to public health. False or misleading narratives come in different forms that require different responses. •content may not be illegal as defined by law, but still harmful •it can range from disinformation (defined as intentional) to misinformation •it can include misleading healthcare information, consumer fraud, cyber-crime, illegal hate speech as well as targeted influence operations by foreign actors. •the motivation behind it can range from economic gain (online scams) causing public harm, to political purposes •foreign actors and certain third countries, in particular Russia and China, have engaged in targeted influence operations and disinformation campaigns in the EU, its neighbourhood, and globally. False claims such as ‘drinking bleach or pure alcohol can cure the coronavirus infections’: on the contrary, drinking bleach or pure alcohol can be very harmful. Belgium’s Poison Control Centre has recorded an increase of 15% in the number of bleach-related incidents. Conspiracy theories, such as the claim that coronavirus is 'an infection caused by the world’s elites for reducing population growth'. The scientific evidence is clear: the virus comes from a family of viruses originating in animals that include other viruses such as SARS and MERS. Claims that '5G installations would be spreading the virus'. These theories had no specific substantiation and led to attacks on masts. The EU needs to empower citizens, raise awareness and increase societal resilience. The EU will share best practices on resilience-building measures in the coronavirus context. The Commission will support and promote media literacy projects, critical thinking and digital skills, as well as civil society organisations. It will strengthen coordination among institutions, networks and Member States to share awareness-raising material and best practices. The Commission will pay particular attention to vulnerable groups, in particular children and young people, who face a higher risk of being misled. Read more… Source: ec.europa.eu

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) evaluates the impact of COVID 19 on electoral processes around the world. “Due to risks associated with the pandemic, presidential, parliamentary or local level elections have already been postponed in about 60 countries at this stage. However, in some countries elections have still been carried out despite the threat. In this article, we are going to review examples of both cases and present a preliminary analysis of the 2020 parliamentary elections in Georgia on the background of them”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: IDFI.GE

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) and the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association call on the Parliament to expedite a labor reform. “We, signatory organizations, respond to the fact of death of three people at their workplace and next incident occurred at the Tkibuli coal mining enterprise due to life-threatening working conditions during the last week, and call on the Parliament of Georgia to expedite review of bills submitted to the legislative body. These bills contain important guarantees of rights of workers and legislative amendments necessary for effective enforcement of labor legislation”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Media Advocacy Coalition releases a statement in regard to needs of radio broadcasters. “We, coalition member organizations, have got familiarized with the draft strategy related to announcement of tenders for obtaining licenses for private air broadcasting and developed by the Communications Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “Commission”). Our demand is to establish a state commission with the engagement of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, the Administration of the Prime Minister of Georgia, towers infrastructure, international (including ITU) experts and other specialists. We express our readiness to participate in the operation of such an inter-agency commission again. We believe that such planning will make it possible to take care of survival of the radio sector and create proper conditions for its development. At the same time, the Coalition considers it necessary to involve the European Union Monitoring Mission, our reliable partner, in the process for consultations”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

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Tbilisi. Signatory civil society organizations respond to the expected process of assignment of the new State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality and call on the Government to establish a system based on democratic consultations as well as to enhance the Office of the State Minister both institutionally and politically. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. On June 13, at 12:00, there will be conducted a webinar on the topic: How to provide assistance to a student who is victim of violence. The webinar will be led by Pshemislav Staron, the best teacher of 2018 in Poland and the finalist of Global Teacher Prize 2020. Translation of the webinar will be performed simultaneously from Polish into Georgian language. If you would like to know How the psyche of a student responds to domestic violence; How it affects functioning of a student in school; What kind of help a student should get from a teacher, register at the following link...  The webinar is organized by both Fundacja HumanDoc HumanDoc South Caucasus Regional Office in Tbilisi and Bridge of Friendship Kartlosi. Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. Green Alternative publishes an article by Irakli Macharashvili: Lessons learned from COVID-19: What is the connection between environmental protection and spread of epidemics? “How the conflict between humans and wildlife contributes to occurrence and spread of deadly epidemics - we have to imagine animal markets to understand that. Such markets are places for gathering a lot of animals that may not live together in nature. Stressed and diseased animals are locked in cages and secrete body fluids. They are killed and the meat is cut in pieces at the same places. All this creates a favorable environment for spread of a virus. First cases of the new coronavirus were linked to specifically the Wuhan animal market, where live civets and other animals were sold for food. If we do not learn proper lessons, daily decline in wildlife habitat due to activities of humans will further exacerbate the threat of new epidemics: humans occupy habitat of wild animals and, thus, offer their bodies to viruses, fungi and bacteria that were hosted by animals”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more…  Source: greenalt.org

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) responds to cases of death of workers at work on a construction on June 7 and 9 of this year in Batumi and Marneuli, and calls on the state to ensure safe work.  “Despite a reform, conducted on a legislative level, and institutional enhancement of the labor inspectorate, the state is still unable to create decent and safe working conditions for workers employed at construction sites. The work of those employed at such sites is extremely fragmented, vulnerable, life-threatening and dangerous for their health”.  Read more…  Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) submitted its opinions in regard to amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, initiated by Members of Parliament, to the legislative body. “GYLA appraises reduction of number of members in the office of Speaker of Parliament to 4 positively. However, it calls on the Parliament to determine positions of the 1st and 3rd Deputy Speakers of Parliament as positions reserved for the opposition”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The Heinrich Boell Foundation presents a new handbook – “Peace and conflict studies: Basic handbook”. “Following to the fact that an academic discipline of conflict analysis and peace research gradually develops in Georgia, we would like to facilitate this process and contribute to it. We think that the material, provided in this handbook, will be useful for lecturers and researchers, working at various universities in Georgia, to use it in their curricula. We also hope that it will benefit young professionals who work at different state institutions and non-governmental organizations focusing on peace building and conflict resolution”. Read more… Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. UN Women Georgia Country Office decided to present women whose contribution to the response against the virus had particular significance. To show that at most responsible moment women stood on the frontline and courageously safeguarded people’s safety and well-being, often at the cost of risking their own health. Read more... Source: The organization’s page in a social network

Tbilisi. Civil society organizations operating in Adjara call on Tornike Rizhvadze, Chairman of the Government of Adjara, to “respect rights and dignity of every citizen, living in the region, and adhere to universally recognized ethical principles”. “Statement of Tornike Rizhvadze, which he made to appraise the several-day hunger strike of Alexandre Milorava, demanding resignation of Director of Adjara Public Broadcaster, does not correspond to both his status of a state-political official and norms of ethics”. Read more…  Source:The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. By the order of Transparency International Georgia, Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC) conducted a public opinion survey during the period from February 27 to March 18, 2020. “Within the framework of the survey 1763 people have been inquired across the country. The average discrepancy of the survey is 2.2%. Minor corruption is still rare in Georgia, however, more complex forms of corruption and investigation of corruption cases involving high-ranking officials remain a challenge”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: transparency.ge