Tbilisi. Social Justice Center shares the article: Georgia's Foreign Policy: The Causes and Impacts of Changes. "This article combines the opinions and views presented by experts. How would you characterize the foreign policy of Georgia during the last period of Georgian Dream rule? Especially in the last year, after the war in Ukraine? “On the one hand, the authorities point that they join dozens of international resolutions or statements in support of Ukraine, and, on the other hand, Georgia's compliance with EU foreign and security policy decisions has dropped from an already low 44% to 31% in 2022.[1] In 2022, Georgia supported only 3 out of 26 EU declarations on sanctions against Russia.[2]  The resumption of direct flights with Russia further reduced this compliance level, which is a direct blow to Georgia's EU integration process.[3] It is clear that the "declared" policy of Georgian government vis-à-vis the EU integration remains only on paper, that too in expired strategic documents”. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Tbilisi. Meet Babi - a 7-year-old girl who loves sculpting, music, walking, sliding, and listening to stories. Babi can't see. She is blind. Listen to Babi's story about what it means when the environment does not allow you to fulfill your potential and what it means to be a child with #disabilities. Find out more... The video was prepared by UNICEF and MAC Georgia with the support of Joint SDG Fund. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

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. Transparency International Georgia previously wrote about the reasons why a register of beneficial owners (BO) needs to be set up in Georgia. The organization spoke about the need for citizens to know who ultimately owns companies that are strategically important for the country as well as the fact that the creation of such a register would help Georgia’s EU integration and the fulfillment of other international obligations. “Since then, another important reason for creating the registry appeared. After Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent decision by Western countries to fully engage their sanctions regimes, beneficial ownership registries have become one of the main tools for tracing sanctioned persons and their assets. In Georgia, where traces of ownership of many strategically important companies lead to Russia, and where economic dependence on Russia is growing at a rapid pace, setting up a register of beneficial owners is a necessity. Such a register will enable the identification of entities under Western sanctions and help mitigate risks associated with Russian capital in general”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. PHR representatives conducted a training on the sexual and reproductive rights of women with disabilities at the Georgian Bar Association. Read more… Source: phr.ge

Tbilisi. On May 15-16, a training session was held for the Leaders of Independent Living Centers within the framework of USAID Independent Living Program. The training based on the  module developed by World Vision International: "Traveling Together". Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Levan Ioseliani, Public Defender of Georgia, met with Kaori Ishikawa, UN Women Country Representative to Georgia. The topics of discussion at the meeting included issues of gender equality, women's economic and rights situation in Georgia. Special attention was paid to the issue of femicide. The meeting also touched upon the strengthening of partnership between organizations and close cooperation to improve the rights situation of women. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Spring semester of academic program - Disinformation and Propaganda Studies: History, Theories and Ways of Debunking continues. The educational program is jointly organised by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and the University of Georgia (UG). Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Myth Detector shares the blogpost: How was Putin’s decision to lift ban on airline flights with Georgia covered in the Russian Media? “On May 10, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued two decrees; one revoked the 2019 decision to ban direct flights to Georgia, and the other allowed Georgian citizens to enter the Russian Federation without a visa for 90 days. The decision was actively covered in the Russian media. Kremlin propaganda journalists, politicians and representatives of the tourism sector welcomed Putin’s decision, while Russian news agencies, quoting Petre Mamrade, the head of “The Strategic Institute of Management” and Lali Moroshkina, the host at “Radio Imedi,” announced that Putin’s decision was welcomed by the Georgian people as well”. Read more… Source: mythdetector.ge

Tbilisi. The European Union (EU) co-founded the programme EU4Youth and created a Telegram chat-bot game Fair Employment. The game’s primary goal is to raise awareness and promote a better understanding of fair labour practices and standards that must be ensured before and after signing the contract for both young people and employers. “This game, among other EU4Youth initiatives, corresponds to the European Year of Skills 2023 activities aiming to increase people’s skills and empower them to navigate the labour market and its changes successfully and to engage in society and democracy fully”. Read more… Source: eu4georgia.eu

Tbilisi. Civil Society Organizations release the statement: Russian Plane Does Not Lend Itself To EU. “The decision by the Georgian authorities to allow direct flights between Tbilisi and Moscow is a deliberate act of sabotage against Georgia's aspirations for EU candidate status. The European Union has explicitly stated that flights to and from Russia are not permitted by its members and partners, and this action by the Georgian government raises concerns about Georgia's commitment to adhering to EU regulations in foreign policy, as stipulated in the Association Agreement. Contrary to the will of 89% of the Georgian people and in conflict with Article 78 of the Georgian Constitution, the Georgian government continues to shift its foreign policy course. Prior to determining the candidate status for EU membership, such a demarche goes against the Georgian people’s foreign aspirations, which have provided benefits such as visa-free travel and direct flights with the EU, rather than Russia. Our people are already experiencing adverse effects due to the government's foreign policy, resulting in a significant influx of Russian immigrants to Georgia. This has contributed to soaring prices, placing an additional financial strain on Georgian citizens. We call on the Georgian government to halt actions that sabotage the attainment of EU candidate status and immediately reverse the decision to start direct flights with Russia. Continuing down this path will only further damage the interests of Georgia”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

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. This joint statement is issued by the United Nations system in Georgia, the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, the Embassies to Georgia of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, the European Investment Bank’s Regional Representation for the South Caucasus, and the Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia. “We call on Georgia, a country aspiring to become an EU candidate country, to align state policy and practice with Georgia’s international commitments to safeguard the rights of LGBTQI+ persons and to promote an inclusive society. Exclusion of any member of society perpetuates social, economic and political inequality and injustice for everyone, thus hampering further development of Georgia’s democracy. We call upon Georgian state, political, civic and religious leaders to stand up and speak out against hate, discrimination and violence and to work together with the LGBTQI+ communities to ensure full enjoyment of everyone’s rights”. Read more… Source: www.eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. The non-governmental organizations involved in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) process in Georgia express their concern regarding the flagrant violation of the fundamental values and principles of OGP by the Government of Georgia. “In recent years, the actions of the Georgian government have consistently demonstrated a clear misalignment with the OGP core values by endorsing the Russian-inspired law on "Foreign Agents," undermining the independence of the judicial system, launching direct attacks on civil society organizations, human rights defenders, and critical media representatives, as well as making attempts to restrict their operations, infringing on fundamental freedoms, notably freedom of association and expression, and the right to privacy, restricting access to information. The national OGP process is stalled for the fourth year already, the country has not implemented a single reform within the framework of the OGP at the national level. Georgia acted contrary to the OGP participation and co-creation standards for two consecutive cycles, by not delivering OGP National Action Plan since 2019. Regrettably, the almost three-year process of developing a new action plan has reached an impasse again… In light of the above, Georgia’s Open Government Interagency Coordination Council (and Forum) member CSOs addressed the OGP Steering Committee with a Letter of Concern to trigger the Response Policy. The policy seeks to foster a greater engagement of the OGP’s international Secretariat (Support Unit), partner donors, and international organizations in effectively addressing the ongoing crisis”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia has studied the guilty verdict delivered against Nika Gvaramia, a former director of Rustavi 2 TV company and the founder of Mtavari Arkhi, on May 16, 2022, which fails to meet the criteria of lawfulness, substantiation and fairness. “Judge Lasha Chkhikvadze of the Tbilisi City Court found Nika Gvaramia guilty of abuse of powers (on two counts) under Article 220 of the Criminal Code of Georgia and sentenced him to three years and six months of imprisonment. Considering the neglect of legitimate questions regarding the impartiality and objectivity of the judge, poor legal reasoning in determining the guilt and sentencing of Nika Gvaramia, dearth of systemic analysis of facts presented in the form of evidence and lack of use of corresponding court practice, legal literature or academic materials, we can conclude that the decision delivered against Nika Gvaramia is unsubstantiated”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

The CSO Meter 2022 report is now available. Georgia is a medium-risk country for public groups, activists, and human rights advocates, according to the findings. The existing environment in Georgia has been allocated 4.8 points out of a maximum of 7 points (the legislative environment is evaluated with 5.2 points and practice with 4.4 points). The report examines and analyses events that occurred between January and November of 2022. As a result, the CSO meter of 2022 enables us to grasp the environment "yesterday" and compare it to the current situation.  CSO Meter: Country Report, 2022 Despite the fact that there were no events in the reporting period of 2022 that significantly changed the living environment of CSOs in comparison to the previous year, the report highlights the increased rate of verbal attacks against the public sector and the accompanying initiatives, which, in turn, indicate the livelihood of CSOs and the potential for environmental degradation. The doubling of the registration price for organizations, major changes in Georgian law affecting enterprises, and challenges detected at the stage of creating a bank account had a negative influence on the environment, hence scores declined in the following directions when compared to the previous period: Freedom of association (scoring in the legal component reduced from 6.2 to 6.1) The Right to equality (The score for the practical component fell from 5.4 to 5.3), and the right to privacy, score of which in practical component fell from 3.1 to 3.0. The report was created by the Civil Society Institute (CSI), Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), and Freedom of Information Development Institute. As part of the project "Guide to Strengthening Civil Society Organizations and Creating an Enabling Environment," The European Center for Non-Commercial Law (ECNL) is implementing the project, which is funded by the European Union (EU).

Tbilisi. Transparency International Georgia publishes the Newsletter for quarterly political donations. “From January 1 up to March 31, 2023, all the parties have received donations of GEL 640,569 in total. Almost half of this amount – GEL 300,000 – went to the ruling party, Lelo for Georgia ranked second with GEL 201,000, and European Georgia – Movement for Liberty ranked third with GEL 84,299”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. According to the TI Georgia, Four companies linked with a member of the Parliament of Georgia, Zaal Dugladze, have received a total of GEL 8,562,573 through the State Agrocredit Program in the years 2013-2022. “Along with Zaal Dugladze, a brother of Bidzina Ivanishvili, Alexander Ivanishvili, has business interests in the companies. One of the beneficiaries of the preferential agro-credit program is Dugladze Wine Company LLC, which has benefited from the program more often than any other physical and legal persons – 45 times in total – and received GEL 4,335,895 as cheap financial resource”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

On May 8, 2023, the Anti-Violence Network of Georgia and its partner organization – “LELI,” held an introductory meeting with the Mayor of the Lagodekhi Municipality, Mr. Jondo Mdivnishvili , within the framework of the “Accelerated Rural Development in Imereti and Kakheti” program. Participants in the meeting expressed their willingness to work together and acknowledged the value of coordinated work. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

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. UNICEF, in partnership with seven state universities and the CRCs, initiated the research on mental health among university students to gain in-depth understanding of students’ mental health needs and their access to the respective services as one of the fundamental child rights. “According to the survey conducted by UNICEF, young people comprise one of the most vulnerable groups in terms of mental health. One out of four young people experiences moderate or severe anxiety symptoms, one in three suffers from signs of depression”. Read more… Source: www.unicef.org

Tbilisi. "Transparency International Georgia” has submitted a legislative proposal to the Parliament of Georgia to amend the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament. The legislative proposal is intended to achieve power-sharing in the Parliament and strengthen the role of the opposition. Read more… Source: transparency.ge