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Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes a blog post: Rule of law and human rights during the COVID-19 crisis. “Current document contains a review of international standards related to the rule of law and protection of human rights in times of emergency, as well as an analysis of main challenges related to the following fundamental rights: the right to a fair trial, freedom of expression/access to information, and inviolability of private life”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

In the village of Mtisdziri, Vani municipality, Keti Tomeishvili has given her greenhouse to her four women employees for free. COVID19 has left many families without any work and related income. Now they are fully dependent on the salary that women earn at Keti’s cucumber greenhouse. “I have increased women’s salaries, but it was not enough. So, I gave one of the greenhouses to women. In three weeks there is a cucumber harvest and I will also help them to sell the harvest. Staying for some months without profit will not impoverish me, but this income is critical for them and their families” – says Keti Tomeishvili. Keti Tomeishvili is one of the beneficiaries of the UN Women’s project “A Joint Action for Women’s Economic Empowerment in Georgia.” The project is funded by Norwegian Government and implemented by UN Women in partnership with Georgian Farmer’s Association. Read more… Source: Social network

Tbilisi. “International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy” has revealed a network of fake media sites on “Facebook” having signs of tight coordination and attempting to spread pro-government messages non-authentically as well as to demonize critical thinking using disguised and homogeneous tactics. “Besides pro-government articles, these fake media sites spread also deliberate misinformation to discredit public figures and opposition leaders who criticize the government”. Read more… Source: isfed.ge

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes an article, according to which the Open Government Partnership (OGP) launches a campaign aiming to respond to the crisis occurred as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. “The campaign proposes specific and practical ways, which demonstrate importance of principles of openness – engagement of citizens and civic oversight while developing a response policy against the pandemic. The Steering Committee identifies three important stages in overcoming the crisis occurred as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic: 1. Rapid response to the pandemic, 2. Socio-economic recovery and 3. Long-term reform, and emphasizes that openness and engagement of citizens increase effectiveness of crisis management methods”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy publishes a blogpost: Russian information operation on Facebook encouriging political polarization in Georgia and inauthentic accounts involved in it. “On April 30, 2020 Facebook removed from its platform Kremlin’s propagandistic information agency News-Front’s pages in Georgian and other languages that they used in various countries. As part of its social media monitoring, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) was studying News-Front Georgia and Facebook accounts connected to it since November, 2019. News-Front is a Kremlist information agent that operates in Georgia and was actively using Facebook to wage pro-Russian and anti-Western campaigns”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: isfed.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes a blog post: Chronicle of the three-month persecution of Adjara Public Broadcaster journalists. “This process started in April 2019 with an arbitrary and politicized impeachment case of Natia Kapanadze and took aggressive forms after appointment of a new director. Overall, the new management has fired majority of employees, having key positions in the news service, or transferred them to another job”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Coalition for Equality releases a statement in regard to needs of those remained out of the anti-crisis plan. “Despite consultations with community organizations, neither the needs of LGBTQI people have been considered in the anti-crisis plan. In the given circumstance, queer people, remained without income and job, who fail to have a support of their family members or a public solidarity, are threatened with staying out on the street. Their urgent needs, including subsidy for rent and provision of alternative housing or shelter, have been left beyond the state anti-crisis assistance program. In the process of overcoming the crisis, response of the Interagency Coordinating Council to demands of community organizations is fragmentary and does not respond proactively to those complex challenges that are in the agenda”. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International - Georgia publishes a blog post: Economic dependence of Georgia on Russia: Trends and threats. “A lot of researchers consider that economic dependence of Georgia on Russia is dangerous as Russia has repeatedly used economic tools against Georgia over the last 15 years. For example, in 2006 Russia first cut off natural gas and electricity supplies, then actually restricted export of products from Georgia to Russia. At the end of the year they started deportation of Georgian citizens. While after developments of June 20, 2019, flights from Russia to Georgia were canceled, which is still in force. Therefore, it is important to know what the level and trend of dependence of Georgia on Russia is. Transparency International - Georgia has explored those key areas where the economy of Georgia is significantly depended on Russia. These areas are: foreign trade, tourism and money transferred by immigrants”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) responds to the International Workers’ Day. The organization calls on the state to create a legal and institutional framework oriented on protection of rights of workers, flexible mechanisms for execution of existing legislation and solid standards of social protection. “In Georgia, a large part of workers become victims of neglect of labor legislation and violation of labor rights on a daily basis. However, in the circumstances of the pandemic it especially intensified. Dismissal of people from their work without prior notice and respective compensation, forced release of employees on unpaid leave, arbitrary reduction of salary or refusal to pay happened to take place systematically. Current situation has brought vulnerability of workers to the surface and revealed that there is lack of fair legislative arrangement, effective institutions and solid guarantees for social protection”. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association releases a statement in regard to the International Workers’ Day. “First of all, we would like to express our gratitude to representatives of the profession that, in the conditions of the pandemic, cares for health and safety of society in both Georgia and the world. The pandemic has clearly shown importance of work of not only doctors, but also nurses, attendants, people working in service and others fields, who, nowadays, have to work in difficult working conditions in exchange for minimal reimbursement. We also note that the state has an increased obligation to protect working conditions and safety of these people. Georgia, as a social state, has a constitutional obligation to take care of strengthening principles of social justice, equality and solidarity within society. Lack of a unified labor policy at the state level and a failure to properly realize importance of guaranteeing labor rights have a negative effect on social protection and stability of an ordinary employee, which fact, in turn, is detrimental to the well-being of the state”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Due to the information of UN Women Georgia in a village of Maradisi, Marneuli municipality women took care of potato crops of the family infected by #COVID19. “While the family members are under intensive care at a hospital, Naira Paqsadze together with some active local women, obeying social distancing rules have weeded the crop not to leave the family without source of income. Naira Paqsadze is a community worker of SCO TASO and she is actively engaged in community mobilization project of UN Women”. Read more… Source: Social network

Tbilisi. Transparency International - Georgia publishes a blog post: Activities of the Competition Agency in 2014-2019 years: Authorities and reviewed cases. “In 2014, the Competition Agency of Georgia was established as an independent legal entity. The main purpose of the Agency is to ensure a fair and free competitive environment in the country. The competition agency drew public attention mainly around an investigation of monitoring of three markets. One of them was to find out reasons of rise in bread prices in 2018, which was the order of the Prime Minister given to the agency. More than a year is passed since the start of the monitoring and it has not yet been revealed by the agency as to what caused the price to rise and whether there were any alleged unlawful actions, committed by bread supplier enterprises, or not. The second high-profile case was an investigation in the automotive fuel market. While in the third case there was a weird action performed by the competition agency”. Read more… Source: transparency.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. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) responds to needs of socially vulnerable groups in the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and calls on the Government and municipalities of Georgia to ensure their right to adequate nutrition. “The anti-crisis plan, which was presented by the Government of Georgian on April 24, includes social assistance packages for various target groups, however, several vulnerable groups remain out of them”. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. The South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation publishes an article by Manana Kochladze, the founder of “Green Alternative”: COVID-19, environmental protection and future perspectives. “The COVID-19 pandemic turns out to be a serious challenge for modern societies. Thousands of people have died as a result of rapid spread of the disease around the world, borders have been closed and many people have lost their jobs due to isolation and quarantine. As it was expected, the Pandemic has affected poor population most of all and further increased poverty and inequality in an already unequal world”. Read more… Source: ge.boell.org

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association conducted an online presentation of the report - “Forms and prevention of torture and ill-treatment”. “There have been revealed no systemic cases of torture and inhuman treatment in recent years, however, committing such crimes by law enforcers is still a problem. As in previous years, qualification of such facts respectively, carrying out investigations within a reasonable time, recognition of those affected by ill-treatment as victims by law enforcement agencies remains a challenge. Establishment of the State Inspector Service and its enactment was a positive step, however, adoption of the Law on the State Inspector Service as filed, according to which the Inspector has a limited mandate, cannot be appraised positively”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The EU-supported Tsalka and Keda Local Action Groups (LAGs), in partnership with CENN, invite you to participate in a cycle of webinars: ‘Women and Covid-19’. The webinars will be dealing with various topics in connection to the impact of Covid-19 on women, challenges the women face while in isolation and the possible ways to respond effectively to the occurred challenges. To participate in the webinars, please register at the following link...  For more information visit... Source: The web-page of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes a blog post: Russian propaganda and COVID-19 - Should Georgia expand trade relations with Russia or not? The blog post serves as a response to an article by Beso Barbakadze, a journalist: “Vital artery of Georgia passes through Russia”. There is stated in the article that on the background of the crisis, occurred due to the Coronavirus, European countries will no longer be able to supply Georgia with the products they used to export until now, and that it is, therefore, important for Georgia to start negotiations with the Russian Federation in regard to expansion of trade relations. “The current situation, as well as past experience, shows that there is a necessity not in enhancement of trade relations directly with Russia and thus in increase of dependence on it, but in diversification of both import and export, so as to make sure that economic stability of the state does not depend on processes ongoing in any other country or it does not become a tool in hands of authorities of another country”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) has been studying international practice of proactive publication of information for years and, taking this into consideration, offers recommendations to the Government of Georgia. “International practice of proactive publication of information related to the new coronavirus pandemic shows that on the background of the crisis situation, certain countries manage to establish a good practice of accessibility to information regarding a number of issues. Also, there has been highlighted importance of official open platforms, where states publish data in an open format. While other stakeholders, data analysts, research organizations, field specialists and journalists are given the opportunity to prepare their own analysis and interesting studies in regard to various aspects of spread of the pandemic”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

As part of the U.S. Government's rapid response to COVID-19, USAID/Georgia is helping the Government of Georgia prepare for a strong economic recovery. Right now, we are providing technical assistance to the Government of Georgia to help it develop a post-COVID recovery plan that focuses on increased employment opportunities. Read more... Source: The U.S. Embassy’s page in a social network

Institute for Development of Freedom of Information became a member of the international platform – the Sites of Conscience. Founded in 1999, the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience is the only worldwide network of Sites of Conscience. With over 275 members in 65 countries. The coalition builds the capacity of these vital institutions through grants, networking, training, transitional justice mechanisms, and advocacy. Read more... Source: idfi.ge