Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) publishes a blog post by Vakhushti Menabde: Where the homeless go during a curfew. “A curfew means restriction of presence in a public space and it applies to everyone - it does not differentiate between those who have a ceiling and those who do not have the one. After enforcement of such a rule, at 21:00, we enter our houses, but part of people, those who do not have a place to live and sleep in the corners of streets, squares, underground passages, automatically come into conflict with law. Thus, their existence becomes questionable - if these people do not have the right to spend night in a public space, but at the same time they do not have the opportunity to go elsewhere, it turns out that they do not have the right to exist at all”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Find out what recommendations proposed by the Open Society Georgia Foundation to the Government to support citizens remained unemployed mean. “The Open Society Georgia Foundation initiated a policy document, which, based on consideration of international practice and peculiarities of Georgian labor market, offers recommendations to the Government of Georgia to ensure social security of workers temporarily. Presented recommendations apply only to the management of the crisis period and do not focus on fundamental change in the social security system of the country, which requires much more time and effort. In a pandemic, the key principle is to take actions quickly and at the lowest possible administrative cost”. Read more… Source: osgf.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes an article of Karim Ismail translated by Nino Karanadze: Cultural and symbolic resonance of zero tolerance in the modern criminal system. “This article asserts that the increase in punitive crime related measures, such as zero tolerance, is the outcome of a number of social, political, economic and cultural developments, which have transformed nature and social control of crime in the United States and other Western industrial states. Zero tolerance is a metaphor of our time”. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) considers that the decision of “Spar” to leave employees at work throughout all night poses a significant threat to the right to decent work. “According to our information, there are no proper conditions for overnight stay in stores of “Spar” and employees often have to spend the night in places allocated for warehouses. That is why EMC demands an immediate inspection of “Spar””. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information publishes the blog post: Pandemics and Corruption Risks. “Due to the new coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, state of emergency was declared in Georgia on March 21, 2020. Unfortunately, international experience shows that corruption often thrives during times of crisis, as some see it as an opportunity to take advantage of the situation and use power for private gain. It is important that public institutions use the funds allocated to them within the framework of the emergency budget in a highly rational manner and ensure the transparency of this process. Considering all the above, it is important that the authorities ensure that risk factors in the health sector are identified and that appropriate measures are taken to ensure that the funds allocated in this direction are spent rationally and diligently”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tech activists in the Eastern partner countries and across the world are invited to take part in a global hackathon to find solutions in the face of the Coronavirus crisis, taking place from 9-12 April, globally and online, across all time zones, organised by Estonia and supported by the European Union. Find out more... ource: EU’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) considers that the Government takes advantage of the state of emergency and restricts participation of public in the environmental protection related decision-making process in disputed projects. “Green Alternative and GYLA call on the Government of Georgia to suspend the projects related decision-making process during the state of emergency. We, applicant organizations, consider that the change in the government resolution has been made to simplify decision-making on problematic projects. An Abastumani bypass road project, for instance, can be named as such a problematic one”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. According to information of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, news released by ZDnet on March 30 in regard to publishing the list of voters of Georgia raises a number of question marks. “Information about mass disclosure of personal data of voters 7 months before the 2020 parliamentary elections may be aimed at discrediting both the voters list and the election process itself. Therefore, it is important to conduct a timely and thorough investigation into the possible fact of mass disclosure of personal data of citizens of Georgia in order to find out whether such a fact actually took place or not, published information contains real data on Georgian citizens or not, which databases were made public, how they were accessed and by who”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more…  Source: isfed.ge

Tbilisi. Green Alternative and the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association demand abolition of an environmental protection related resolution issued in regard to the Namakhvani HPP project. “On April 6, Green Alternative and GYLA will file a lawsuit in the Tbilisi City Court demanding abolition of an environmental protection related resolution issued in regard to changes made in the Namakhvani two-stage HPP cascade project planned to be implemented on the Rioni River at Tskaltubo and Tsageri municipalities”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

The EU has made available a Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) of €1.3 million providing grants of up to 60,000 EUR for civil society organisations to respond swiftly to developments such as Covid-19. Grants are awarded on a first come, first served basis to CSOs that can demonstrate leadership, innovation and expertise or a track record of addressing challenges in Georgia or other EaP countries. Read more… Source: EU’s page in the social network

Tbilisi. From today, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Georgia joins the global 15-day campaign with hashtags #LearningAtHome and #HaveFunAtHome. Within the framework of the initiative, the organization is going to offer parents of children of preschool age one easy-to-perform activity daily, which will facilitate mental and physical development of their children. Read more…  Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) once again calls on Georgian Public Broadcaster to use its TV air and regularly update non-Georgian speaking population of Georgia regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and its prevention. “The team of the First Channel already spends significant efforts in order to make information available in different languages, however it almost does not go beyond the format of a web platform. It is noteworthy that in the circumstances when the television is often basic source of information in the villages of Marneuli and Bolnisi, main attention should be paid to specifically those mediums that provide the fastest and most comprehensive information updates for non-dominant groups”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Some Georgian civil society organizations call on the Plenum of the Supreme Court to refrain from appointing a judge of the Constitutional Court until the state of emergency is over. “We consider it inadmissible to appoint a new member of the Constitutional Court in the circumstances of the state of emergency, when it is actually impossible for public and other interested parties to perform monitoring of the process. While the Constitutional Court still retains confidence of public and authority, appointment of a judge in the current circumstances and behind closed doors will have a negative impact on the reputation of both the appointed judge and the Constitutional Court as a whole”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) responds to the resolution of the Government of Georgia N204 of March 30, 2020, restricting public transportation in order to reduce spread of the new coronavirus in Georgia. The organization calls on the Government of Georgia to take respective steps to ensure transportation of those employed to their work places.  “Taking into account needs of those employed, on the one hand, while on the other hand, for smooth continuity of economic activities, we urge the Government of Georgia to apply its extraordinary authority and instruct employers to provide their employees with transportation means within the duration of the state of emergency, considering their transfer to and from the work place, as well as to support employers respectively in case it is necessary”, - is stated on the website of the organization.  Read more… Source: emc.org.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. As the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association informs, based on amendments to the resolution of the Government, defining the rule of enforcement during the state of emergency has become a competence of Minister of Justice. “As a result of changes, the resolution no longer contains Article 12, which, during the state of emergency, used to limit such authority of National Bureau of Enforcement as eviction of people from their own property/house, as well as deduction from a salary, pension, scholarship, or enforcement activities set for the cases regarding full or partial dismantling of buildings and etc. The amendment to Article 11 of the same resolution provides Minister of Justice with a number of authorities, including the possibility of determining a different rule of activity for National Bureau of Enforcement”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

W-Talks start on April 2 and are an initiative of the USAID Promoting Rule of Law in Georgia Program (PROLoG). Each edition of W-Talk will be hosted by Ana Abashidze, head of the Partnership for Human Rights. Read more… Source: The page of the organization in the social network

Tbilisi. Organizations, working on issues related to violence against women and domestic violence, address state agencies. “For women and girls, experiencing domestic violence, sexual abuse, forced marriage, home is not a safe place. To adhere measures recommended to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, they have to stay home, while offenders take advantage of this fact and use current situation against victims, to strengthen control over them. It is noteworthy that over the last two weeks we received requests regarding provision of legal assistance against violence from more women than before. International experience also shows that violence against women and domestic violence during the pandemic is an additional challenge that needs to be addressed by the state effectively”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Assistance of the EU to Georgia means allocation of more than 20 million euros. “More than 70 million euros, earmarked for already existing programs, will also be redirected to overcome the crisis, as well as access to a number of regional funds will be ensured. This is part of a large package of aid intended for the Eastern Partnership, which includes a new assistance in the amount of 140 million euros and redirection of up to 700 million euros as the aid allocated to the Eastern Partnership countries. The EU provides Georgia with also a macro-financial assistance, within the frames of which the funds will be made available as soon as mutually agreed specific actions are taken. The European Commission is ready to support Georgia also through the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument (TAIEX) in order to evaluate emergency response preparedness schemes and health systems using expert knowledge, experience and good practice examples of the EU member states”, - is stated on the website of the EU. Read more… Source: eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) publishes a poster related to the referendum of March 31, 1991.  “On March 31, 1991, 90.3% of voters participated in a referendum conducted throughout Georgia, including Abkhazia. 3 302 572 people responded to the question – “Do you agree or not to reinstate state independence of Georgia on the basis of the May 26, 1918 Act of Independence?” 98.9% of participants voted for reinstating independence of Georgia”.  Read more…  Source: The website of the organization in a social network

Tbilisi. Here in Georgia, the U.S. Government through USAID will contribute $1.1 million in emergency health assistance. „Delivered in partnership with the World Health Organization and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, this assistance will support Georgia’s efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to help the individuals and communities who are most at risk. Critical public health measures made possible by the new assistance include infection prevention and control, case-finding and event-based surveillance, technical assistance for response and preparedness, strengthened risk communication, and more“. Read more... Source: The organization’s webpage in the social network

Within the framework of the “Keda Leader” project, carried out through the support of the EU ENPARD program, CENN, Institute of Democracy (IoD) and Keda Local Action Group (LAG) are pleased to announce a grant competition: “New Challenges - New Opportunities”. The purpose of the grant is to react quickly and respond to those new challenges that Georgia faces as a result of the “COVID-19” pandemic caused by spread of the Corona virus. The grant competition begins on March 27 and ends on April 6 at 6:00 pm. Read more…  Source: kedalag.ge