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

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. 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

Estonia. From February 8th to 11th, IDFI joined the international conference “Necropolis of Communist Terror” in Tallinn, organized by the Institute of Historical Memory of Estonia and the “Saint Petersburg Memorial Research and Information Centre/Joffe Foundation”. During the conference, attendees had the opportunity to tour the Memorial Museum of Victims of Communism and pay their respects at the Memorial of Estonian Victims of Communism. Learn more… Source: idfi.ge

The EU has adopted sanctions in response to Russia’s unprecedented and unprovoked military attack against Ukraine and the illegal annexation of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. The measures are designed to weaken Russia's economic base, depriving it of critical technologies and markets and significantly curtailing its ability to wage war. Learn more… Source: www.consilium.europa.eu

Tbilisi. Read the latest contribution from Rondeli Foundation's intern, Rachel Mohr, Civil Society Development & Repression. Read more… Source: gfsis.org.ge

Tbilisi. GDI submitted a report on the media environment in Georgia to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. In particular, the report reviews the problems hindering the free environment for the media and the achievement of sustainable development goals, especially goal N16. The report highlights the growing tendency of Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) in the form of defamation lawsuits, which are initiated by government representatives or persons associated with the government against the critical media. It is noteworthy that, so far, there have been about 32 SLAPP cases that are aimed at discrediting the critical media and preventing them from expressing critical opinions. Read more… Source: gdi.ge

Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. According to Transparency International Georgia, Builder 21 Ltd., a company associated with Bachuki Nakani, the Chairperson of the Commission for Economic Issues and Tourism Development at the Mestia City Council, was awarded GEL 1,212,404 worth of local procurement contracts, including GEL 578,989, after Bachuki Nakani had been elected to the position. TI Georgia calls on the Anti-Corruption Agency of the State Security Service to examine the involvement of Builder 21 Ltd. in Mestia municipality procurements to see whether there are any indications of potential corruption. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. This report provides an overview of how anti-Western and pro-Russian disinformation narratives are disseminated in Georgia, who the main disseminators are, and how the Georgian government is countering them in the face of ongoing challenges. “The Georgian government is not effective in combating disinformation. There is no political will to tackle the problem. It is crucial to update and prepare strategic documents on disinformation and security (National Strategy on Countering Hybrid Threats, National Security Concept) to respond to modern challenges and growing disinformation threats”, is noted in the report made by Transparency International Georgia. 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. Read the tips for parents shared by the IDFI. Use google safe search; Use YouTube safe search system; Use in-built safety functions on computer devices; Activate safety mode on smartphones; Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. Car accidents are one of Georgia's leading causes of death and injuries. In order to raise awareness on road safety issues, Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, launch a joint campaign “Better and safer roads for Georgia”. Together with European Investment Bank - South Caucasus, European Union is supporting this campaign to help reduce road accidents and improve road safety in Georgia. More info… Source: www.eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. The signatory organizations, wish to comment once again on the extremely serious health condition of the third president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili. We call on the court to take into account the conclusions of specialists in the field and to make a decision in accordance with human rights standards as soon as possible. We also call on the international community to use all the means at their disposal to prevent irreparable damage to human life and health and the political collapse of the Georgian state. Learn more... Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On February 6, with the support of the European Union in Georgia, UNICEF in partnership with "Prevention for Progress" organization, a multidisciplinary meeting was held on issues related to children under the age of criminal responsibility (under 14) and "difficult behavior". Specifics, practices and challenges of inter-agency work were discussed at the meeting. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. European Union in Georgia and UNDP Georgia support Parliamentary Democracy in Georgia and assist in its institutional development. “On 4 February, the parliament staff discussed a unified standard of institutional policy planning, monitoring and reporting. Theoretical and practical training will assist the parliament staff in better managing the entire cycle of institutional policy: analyse a specific sector, determine strategic policy directions, develop an action plan, engage stakeholders and, finally, effectively communicate results to the public”. Read more… https://www.facebook.com/UNDPGeorgia/posts/561937849305769  Source: The organization’s page on the social network Photo: Vladimir Valishvili/UNDP