Tbilisi. Spring semester of academic program: Disinformation and Propaganda Studies: History, Theories and Ways of Debunking will start on February 27, 2023. The educational program is jointly organised by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and the University of Georgia (UG). The program involves 24 participants representing various universities, regional media outlets, civil society organisations and public institutions. During the fall semester, the participants successfully passed 3 academic courses. During the spring semester, the following four courses are offered under the program: Disinformation and Society Collective memory of nations and its role in Georgian politics and international relations. Archives, Facts, and Media Strategic thinking Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Ned Price, State Department Spokesperson: "We are aware of the draft legislation in Georgian parliament and are deeply concerned about its implications for freedom of speech and democracy in Georgia. We have expressed these concerns [directly] to [our interlocutors in] the Government of Georgia.  The proposed law would stigmatize and silence independent voices of citizens of Georgia who are dedicated to building a better future for their communities. We believe such a law could potentially undermine Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration.  Statements that this legislation is based on the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in the United States are patently false. In fact, this draft legislation appears to be based on similar Russian and Hungarian legislation [not on FARA or any other American legislation]."

The United Nations in Georgia expresses profound concern that the adoption of the draft Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence would risk impeding the work of civil society and media and the essential contributions they make to Georgian democracy. "Civil society organizations in Georgia have been at the forefront of delivering essential services to the most vulnerable and helping protect their human rights. Stigmatizing their work risks leaving persons with disabilities, internally displaced, minorities, older persons, women, youth and children, survivors of domestic violence and other people in need without effective assistance and support". more... source: www.undp.org

PACE co-rapporteurs for monitoring of obligations and commitments by Georgia: “The draft law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” that was tabled by the People’s Power Faction raises several concerns with regard to its compatibility with democratic and Human Rights standards, said PACE rapporteurs on Georgia. We urge all other political factions in Georgia not to support this draft law that would have a chilling effect if adopted, they underlined.” PACE - Parliamentary Assembly is an institution of the Council of Europe that consists of parliamentarians from the national parliaments of the Council of Europe’s 46 member states. Read more… Source: Council of Europe Office in Georgia

Statement: "The proposed draft law on “transparency of foreign influence” raises serious concerns. Creating and maintaining an enabling environment for civil society organisations and ensuring media freedom is at the core of democracy. It is also key to the EU accession process and part of the 12 priorities, notably priority 7 on media freedom and priority 10 on the involvement of civil society. The European Union is supporting Georgia in its reform efforts, responding to the country’s own aspirations for continued development and EU membership, as enshrined in Georgia’s Constitution. The draft law’s adoption would be inconsistent with these aspirations and with EU norms and values. We encourage the political leaders in Georgia to adopt and implement reforms that are in line with the stated objective of joining the European Union, as supported by a large majority of Georgia’s citizens." Read more... source:www.eeas.europa.eu

Ambassador Pawel Herczynski shared the video address to mark one year since the start of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine. “…Ukraine was attacked because it wanted to decide about its future by itself, not with dictate from Moscow. …The EU remains resolute, united and determined in our support to Ukraine on all fronts: humanitarian, economic, political, diplomatic and military. …This is not just an aggression against Ukraine, a sovereign country, but aggression against democracy worldwide”. Full statement… Source: www.eeas.europa.eu

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Tbilisi. Under the USAID Civil Society Engagement Program the International Center of Non-Profit Law (ICNL) and the European Center for Non-Profit Law (ECNL) prepared the comparative analysis of the draft Law of Georgia on Transparency of Foreign Influence (the Draft Law) regarding its compliance with international law and European standards (Analysis).  Brief version is available here… full analysis… Source: ewmi-activism.org

Tbilisi. Public Movement Multinational Georgia (PMMG) expresses its extreme concern as well as firm protest towards the draft law “On the Transparency of Foreign Influence” as initiated by the “People’s Power” being the member of the Parliamentary Majority. The draft law was registered by the Parliamentary Bureau on 21 February, 2023. “Adoption of such a law is categorically unacceptable for us as an umbrella organization working on minority issues and uniting 56 community-based organizations. Hereby it has to be noted, that the activities of most of the ethnic minority community-based organizations mainly implying the conduction of cultural events are largely rested on financial contribution provided by foreign countries. Thus, in case of adoption of the law, they will instantly become the agents of foreign influence”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information shares the infographics: The Impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on Georgia in Numbers. As of December 31, 2022, Russian citizens have 2.87 billion in the form of deposits at Georgian commercial banks.  In 2022 currency exchange offices in Georgia bought 4.6 billion rubles and sold 4.3 billion rubles.  After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 1,841 Russian citizens were registered in public and private schools in Georgia. Learn more... Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. In 2022, Georgia received about 3.6 billion USD in income from Russia through remittances, tourism, and the export of goods, which is 3 times more than the income received from Russia in 2021 from the same sources. This number by 2 times exceeds the income received from Russia in 2019, before the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022, the income from remittances, tourism, and export of goods from Russia was 14.6% of the Georgian economy (GDP), while in 2021, this figure was 6.3%, and the maximum – was 9.9% in 2018. Therefore, Georgia's economic dependence on Russia increased compared to previous years. The growth is mainly due to the soaring remittances. Georgia's growing economic dependence on Russia constitutes a threat to the country, as Russia has repeatedly utilized economic relations to politically leverage independent countries. Furthermore, the increased economic dependence on Russia is a threat to Georgia in terms of macroeconomics too as the Western sanctions and the war caused the economic crisis in Russia that will continue in 2023 as well. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. The EU Delegation to Georgia is preparing the Annual Report 2023 on Georgia, in the framework of the Enlargement Package. This is the first report for Georgia. The EU is inviting civil society organisations, international organisations and key development partners to share written contributions. Public consultations with civil society will take place next week. All information… Source: www.eeas.europa.eu

Shida Kartli. Within the framework of the project Campaign to Protect the Rights of Underage Girls implemented by the Karaleti Women's Solidarity Center, in the villages inhabited by ethnic minorities and IDPs in the Shida Kartli region, in order to reduce underage marriages and eliminate such problems as the crisis age of underaged, prevention of threats from the Internet, stress management, etc., trainings and information meetings were held for young people. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. The petition “Russian law is not the will of Georgia” was published on the web-pages of Media and Civil Society Organizations. “We, the people of Georgia, strongly oppose the bill initiated by the members of the Parliamentary Majority, also endorsed by the Speaker of Parliament and other MPs. We declare that the attempts to adopt this Russian bill attack not only the independent civil society organizations and the critical media, but the people of Georgia themselves. This bill aims to leave defenseless the abused children and women; people with disabilities, minorities, scientists, workers, and the youth; to not provide assistance to the socially vulnerable families, farmers, miners, internally displaced, homeless, illegally laid off, detained, and other people fighting for their rights; to mute the voice of the people living in the peripheries of the country that can only communicate their troubles through the independent media. This draft legislation acts as a response to the numerous facts of violence, corruption, lawlessness, and arbitrary execution of the laws that we, the civil society and the critical media, study and make public. When Putin adopted a similar law in Russia, many organizations chose to disband rather than comply with its requirements. Those that continued to operate faced increased control, harassment, and repressions. This is not the type of governance that we have fought for many years to achieve, and Russian law is certainly not the type of governance that Georgian citizens aspire to have in our country. Adopting this bill will amount to an attack on the key Georgian values of dignity, independence and solidarity with our communities and fellow people. Adopting this bill will amount to an onslaught not only against civil society and our democracy but will also damage our aspirations of Euro-Atlantic development. This law will obstruct our path to membership of the EU as this law was found illegal in the EU. Moreover, the execution of this law will be impossible without causing insurmountable harm to hundreds of thousands of citizens of Georgia”. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. International Association Civitas Georgica has been launched new project. The project aims to elaborate the local policies to reduce the impact of parental migration on Left Behind Children. The target areas of the project are Kobuleti and Tkibuli municipalities. The project “Cooperation for Local policy elaboration on Left Behind Children” is implemented by International Association Civitas Georgica in frames of the project “Strengthening Development Impact of Migration in Georgia” (STREAMinG), implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) with the financial support of the European Union and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. The Public Defender’s Office is echoing the draft law of Georgia "On transparency of foreign influence" and considers that the proposed document does not comply with international or domestic human rights standards and is incompatible with the basic principles of a modern democratic state. “Special attention should be paid to the fact that the bill creates the basis for the collection and publication of a large amount of personal data on persons considered to be "agents of foreign influence" or those in varying relationships with such persons. In addition to potentially imposing an unjustified organizational burden on organizations and detracting them from their core activities,it may contravene the right to privacy by creating the possibility of processing and disclosing the personal data of any individual who has any form of employment or service contractual relationship with these organizations. It should be noted that ensuring the transparency of the activities of associations constitutes an important legitimate aim and pertinent legal regulation for achieving this goal, as well as the tool for collecting, analyzing and reporting information on foreign aid (eAIMS), is not unknown to Georgia as well. However, in order for the proposed interference with human rights to be considered justified, it must be necessary due to "pressing social need" and at the same time, the restrictive measures and accompanying procedures must not be disproportionate, which, according to the assessment of the Public Defender's Office, is not met by the draft law”. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Anna is a human rights lawyer and defends the rights of women, children and people with disabilities in court. “She received her law degree from the University of Texas (LLM) and Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (M.A. and B.A.). Anna's work experience also includes the non-governmental sector: she has worked for the Partnership for Human Rights since 2013. From 2018-2019 she was head of the Children and Youth Coalition. From 2009-2013, she was the head of the Children's Rights Center and the Gender Equality Division of the Public Defender of Georgia. Before, Anna was the executive director of the organization”. Read more… Source: phr.ge

Tbilisi. Within the framework of the project “Civil Society STAR Initiative," LDA Georgia conducted training on the importance, role, stages, methods and specifics of advocacy for Sunday school students of the Georgian Young Lawyers Association of the Kutaisi branch. The trainings are being conducted by LDA Georgia within the framework of the project “Civil Society STAR  Initiative,” with the support of the European Union and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On February 10, the Parliament of Georgia adopted a new law “On Public Procurement” in the third hearing. The following article contains an overview of some of the substantial changes introduced by the new law. A detailed analysis of the introduced legislation can be read in the document attached to the article. Learn more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Civic IDEA shares the statement regarding the draft law on non-governmental organizations initiated by the political party “The People’s Power”. “In the beginning, it must be unequivocally said that the draft law is dangerous and discriminatory and significantly distances us from the declared goal of joining the European Union; therefore, it goes against the constitution and the choice of the Georgian people". Read more… Source: civicidea.ge

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Tbilisi. According to the blogpost published on Qeer.ge, the Government of Georgia submitted the 2022-2030 National Strategy for the Protection of Human Rights to the Parliament, in which LGBTQI rights were omitted. Parliament will probably discuss the document from February. Non-governmental organizations, activists and some politicians consider the approval of the strategy document in the mentioned form unjustified, and talk about the need to correct it. Read more… Source: queer.ge