Tbilisi. How networking can contribute to rural development and what are the gains of rural networks in the EU countries and in Georgia? This was discussed at an annual meeting of the Georgian Rural Development Network (GRDN) attended by over fifty representatives of Georgia’s Government, civil society, rural businesses and international organizations.  The meeting participants discussed the prospects of public-private partnerships in promoting rural development in Georgia and the role of young people in growing successful rural businesses that can create income opportunities beyond agriculture. They also focused on how the national Rural Development Network (GRDN) can facilitate and enhance rural development by creating a coalition of protagonists and supporters.  Read more… Source: http://enpard.ge

Tbilisi. Europe Foundation and the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) are hosting the launching event of their joint initiative that aims at contributing to open and inclusive public participation in the design and implementation of fiscal policy.  The cooperation between Europe Foundation and GIFT is based on the premise that open and inclusive participation in public policy making is a cornerstone of poverty reduction and sustainable economic development. To achieve real participation, however, there should be a reciprocal relationship between citizens and public authorities, “in which citizens provide resources to and entrust governments with stewardship over public resources, and, in turn, expect to receive information on public finances and fiscal policies and to have opportunities to participate in fiscal policy-making”.  Together, Europe Foundation and GIFT Network will target civil society organizations (CSOs) and public authorities to strengthen CSO capacity to engage in policy dialogue and to foster civil society participation in fiscal policy making, for citizen-oriented service delivery policies that lead to visible results for Georgian citizens. Toward these ends, Europe Foundation will organize capacity building and networking opportunities for CSOs and public authorities and will promote the GIFT principles through roundtable discussions on specific challenges to civic engagement in policy making. In the nearest future, Europe Foundation and GIFT will unveil a review of international best practices on how to ensure open and direct civic participation in public policies to support Georgia’s efforts in this area. In addition, it is envisioned to provide grant support to CSOs either to monitor public service delivery or to promote collaboration between CSOs and local authorities for designing more effective and needs-based services.  Read more… Source: http://www.epfound.ge

Tbilisi. “Article 42 of the Constitution” responds to election of 14 judges to the Supreme Court by the Parliament. “The organization ”Article 42 of the Constitution” negatively appraises election of 14 judges to the Supreme Court by the Parliament of Georgia on December 12 of the current year and considers that this decision of the Parliament will not have a positive effect on independence of or public confidence in the judiciary”, - is noted in the statement released by the organization. Read more… Source: https://article42.ge

Ajara. Over 20 students from different schools of Keda municipality participated in a discussion on climate change and sustainable waste management organized by EU-supproted Keda Local Action Group (LAG). The event, which took place at Keda LAG office within the EU-funded ‘Keda LEADER’ project, aimed at raising awareness of the municipality’s youth on environmental issues and facilitating their involvement in respective activities.  The discussion preceeded by screening of 1-minute thematic films selected within the international Mobile Film Festival. The students also attended an upcycling activity and practical training in sustainable waste management.  Read more… Source: http://enpard.ge

Tbilisi. In the summer of 2019, the European Union launched consultations with Georgian CSOs on the future of the Eastern Partnership.  In response to this process, on the initiative of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, five Georgian think tanks have produced a joint document describing the ways of transforming the Eastern Partnership in order to address the expectations of the its member states.  Read more…  Source: https://osgf.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes a blog post: Dire human rights situation existing in the occupied territories. “It should be noted that despite a lot of recommendations provided by actors working on human rights, the Georgian government has not applied to the European Court of Human Rights to use a provisional measure (Article 39 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Court) in response to the dire situation occurred in Akhalgori and predominantly uses just political and diplomatic mechanisms, which have not resulted in any significant outcome so far”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) publishes a blog post: How the Supreme Court has been staffed - a brief overview. Most of the elected judges are promoters of interests of the clan existing in the judicial system, or have held a high-ranking position in the current government prior to their appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court and there are cases of violation of human rights or politically motivated decisions that are connected with their activitie.  We can say that most of them do not enjoy legitimacy of society”, - is stated on the website of the organization. Read more… Source: emc.org.ge

Tbilisi. The Public Defender of Georgia is responding to the recent media reports about alleged pressure exerted on citizens in the regions of Georgia. ‘The Public Defender's representatives talked to citizens in the regions of Georgia, who confirmed the above reports after receiving the confidentially guarantee. Specifically, according to the information obtained from the regions of Kvemo Kartli, Shida Kartli, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Kakheti, Samegrelo, Guria, Imereti and the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, employees of kindergartens, public schools and music schools - non-commercial legal entities founded by local self-governments - were allegedly subjected to direct or indirect pressure and coercion in connection with participation in a rally due to be held in Tbilisi on 14 December 2019. According to the citizens, they were given hints about future problems in the workplace in case of refusing to participate in the rally’ – Is mentioned in the statement of the Public Defender. Read more…  Source: http://ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. According to information released by a part of civil society organizations, mobilization of citizens for a rally, planned by “Georgian Dream” on December 14, is carried out under the pressure on public officials at municipalities. “Signatory organizations call on the ruling party and high-ranking officials of local self-governments to prevent any form of pressure/coercion against public servants and those employed at municipalities, vulnerable citizens that may force them to participate in the rally. Besides, ensure separation of the planned party event from public service as well as self-government activities as much as possible and refrain from misleading citizens about the planned event”, - is noted in the joint statement. Read more… Source: isfed.ge

Tbilisi. The coalition for an independent and Transparent Judiciary applied to the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Mr. Clement Nyaletsossi Voule. “The letter describes the shortcomings of the code of the administrative offences of Georgia, which restricts the freedom of peaceful assembly and expression”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. Partnership for Human Rights (PHR), with the support of the Open Society Georgia Foundation, prepared a report “Promote equal environment for people with disabilities and the elderly”.  The purpose of the report is to review problems, existing in institutional or legislative terms, as well as challenges related to mental health, institutions for disabled and boarding houses for the elderly that people with disabilities and the elderly face. Read more… Source: phrgeorgia.wordpress.com

Tbilisi. Conference on Prevention and Monitoring of Femicide was held with the support of the Public Defender of Georgia and UN Women on 11 December 2019. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the systemic problem and the most extreme form of the killing of women. The main findings of the report show that it is still problematic for the court to assess a case as femicide or attempted femicide. Even when gender motives are identified, this is not reflected in aggravating circumstances of the punishment. Accordingly, it is important for the Prosecutor's Office to take appropriate measures to identify gender motives in the murders or attempted murders of woman. Read more… Source: http://ombudsman.ge

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Tbilisi. The Coalition for an Independent and Transparent Judiciary evaluates the process of hearing candidates for judges of the Supreme Court at the Legal Issues Committee. “Legal reasoning ability of candidates, with rare exceptions, was low, while their responses - unjustified. Some candidates refused to answer questions asked by specific members of the Committee. Such an attitude is disrespectful not only to the Parliament as an institution but also to the process in general and deserves a negative appraisal”, - is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Public Defender of Georgia, Government of Georgia, the EU, CoE and the UN Celebrate Human Rights Day 2019.  The event under the slogan “Youth Standing up for Human Rights”, included the awareness-raising activities to provide information on human rights and values to citizens of Tbilisi.  Representatives of the EU and the Government of Georgia once again confirmed their support to the activities of young people, as actors for social change.  Read more…  Source: https://eeas.europa.eu

Kakheti. More than 65 residents took part in two-day training sessions on the LEADER-CLLD (Community-Led Local Development) approach in Akhmeta municipality in the region of Kakheti.  The training was organised within the framework of the EU-funded ENPARD project “Promoting inclusive and participatory local development in Akhmeta Municipality” and aimed at providing attendees with a thorough induction on the concept and principles of the LEADER-CLLD approach and how they might adapt this proven methodology to their own unique context.  Read more…  Source: http://enpard.ge

Tbilisi. The International Human Rights Defenders Day was celebrated for the second time in Georgia on 9 December 2019. The aim of raising awareness of the activities of human rights defenders and human rights organizations and recognizing their role. ‘Georgia, as one of the UN member states, has a commitment to provide human rights defenders with appropriate conditions for their activities and to protect them from any influence;, - Is mentioned in the statement of the Public Defender of Georgia, - ‘We emphasized the regrettable trends of recent years, especially the cases, when senior political officials verbally assaulted and discredited representatives of NGOs, as well as the misinformation campaign against NGOs and human rights defenders on social networks, which seemed to be well funded and organized’. Read more… Source: http://ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Georgian Democracy Initiative has prepared a review of the situation in regard to human rights in Georgia. The review reflects how human rights have been protected in the country in 2019 and highlights main problems and challenges in this regard. The organization considers that their solution will play fundamental role in the future in terms of both defining a human rights policy and strengthening protection mechanisms against violations of human rights. Read more… Source: www.gdi.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes a book titled: Who Owns Georgia. The book was prepared together with Radio Liberty journalist Niko Nergadze. “Clearly, the situation where the country’s richest man is also the ruling party’s leader and the country’s de facto ruler is a new kind of challenge for the democratic political system and its key institutions. What are the consequences of this consolidation of power for the judiciary, the law enforcement system or the media? What is its impact on elections? How does it affect the daily affairs of citizens and change the places where they live?” Read more… Source: transparency.ge