Tbilisi. Public Defender’s Office publishes a statement on Release of Footage Showing Mikheil Saakashvili in Ward “Notwithstanding the high public interest in the health and rights situation of Mikheil Saakashvili, taking into account the official explanations of the Special Penitentiary Service available at this stage, the Public Defender’s Office considers that the legitimate purpose of the release of the footage, including the satisfaction of the high public interest, or the proportionality or adequacy of that decision, cannot be proved. Even when there is a legitimate purpose, it is important to strike a balance between the public interest and a person's privacy, personal data protection rights, when disclosing health information”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. As Georgia gets ready to adopt its National Human Rights Strategy for 2023-2030, the European Union (EU), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) create a space for discussion on ongoing reforms on administrative offences regulatory framework and the effective realisation of economic, social and cultural rights, bringing together decision-makers, civil society, and human rights defenders. The conference “Stand up for Dignity, Freedom and Justice for All” echoes Human Rights Day theme and calls on the Government, Parliament, civil society organizations and communities to work together and seek solutions to the challenges that prevent Georgia’s citizens, especially representatives of the vulnerable communities and minority groups, from fully enjoying their Constitutionally guaranteed rights. Read more… Source: www.eeas.europa.eu

Tbilisi. IDFI held yet another training to support public participation in the oversight activities of the Supreme Council of Ajara. This time training covered Thematic Inquiry and was offered to the representatives of civil society organizations and the staff of the Ajara Supreme Council. The training covered both theoretical and practical aspects of the issue. The participants learned about the significance of the Thematic Inquiry, the process, and stages of its planning and implementation, ways to involve third parties in the process, and in the form in which the responses to the inquiry should be sent. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. On December 15, in Tbilisi Marriott Hotel, a group of UN agencies, in partnership with the Georgian government and public organizations, held the first national conference on gender equality issues. Conference participants discussed issues such as increasing women's participation in politics, violence against female politicians, ways to eliminate femicide, prevention of sexual violence in peacetime and war, education as a way to overcome gender discrimination, and reforming paid parenthood. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. UNICEF Georgia shares a blogpost: How to discipline your child the smart and healthy way. “There comes a time when every parent struggles with how best to discipline their child. Whether dealing with a screaming toddler or an angry teen, it can be hard to control your temper. No parent wants to find themselves in such a situation and the bottom line is that shouting and physical violence never help. Thankfully, there are other, more effective ways and one of them is positive discipline. We consulted Lucie Cluver, Oxford University professor of Child and Family Social Work and mother of two young boys, to explore how the approach can help parents build positive relationships with their children and teach skills like responsibility, cooperation and self-discipline. Rather than punishment and what not to do, the positive discipline approach puts an emphasis on developing a healthy relationship with your child and setting expectations around behavior”. Read more… Source: www.unicef.org

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. UNDP Georgia welcomes and supports the efforts of Georgia's Ministry of Education and Science to introduce a Braille electronic Georgian version and make educational resources more accessible for people with visual impairments. “Inclusive education is a step forward on the path to an equal society”. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Samtskhe-Javakheti. On October 2, in Borjomi, GCSD, within the framework of the project Vaccination4Georgia, organized a training for local media representatives of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region on the topic: “How to identify and address disinformation and promote vaccination”.  The training module envisaged the specifics of the local media working and addressed the main challenges they face in the process of covering topic of vaccination. The training was conducted by Natia Kuprashvili, the head of the Journalism Resource Center. The project “Vaccination4Georgia” is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in partnership with  Georgian Center for Strategy and Development. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. The signatory organizations respond to the fact that the health condition of the third president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, has extremely worsened. Despite the conclusion of the medical examination, the conclusion of the Public Defender’s Special Medical Council, and the call from the European parliamentarians, the authorities do not recognize the need to take immediate steps to protect the prisoner’s life and health. According to the Public Defender, Mikheil Saakashvili’s health condition already provides the basis for postponing the sentence. “The statements of the ruling party’s high-ranking officials are extremely outrageous and cynical, treating the possibility of the prisoner’s death with complete indifference. We believe that such an attitude towards the life and health of any prisoner is categorically inconsistent with Georgian and international law, as well as with the political goal of EU membership. Further worsening of Mikheil Saakashvili’s health condition and the lethal outcome will not only be the worst violation of human rights, but also a political collapse that will cause irreparable damage to Georgia’s reputation. The signatory organizations call on the government to fully understand the state’s obligations in the field of basic human rights, to stop being indifferent to Mikheil Saakashvili’s serious health condition, and to take responsibility for saving his life and health. At the same time, we hope that the scheduled court hearings related to the postponement of the sentence will be held as soon as possible, and the court will be guided only by the interest of protecting the life and health of the detained individual”, is noted in the statement. Read more… Source: www.gyla.ge

Tbilisi. On December 13, IDFI held an international conference – Good Governance Forum 2022.  The Forum theme was - Accelerating Decentralization: Best Practices and Innovative Solutions.  The event aimed to explore global trends, good practices, needs for Eastern European countries, and innovative methods to deal with their challenges in developing democratic principles and implementing decentralization reforms at the local level.  Learn more… Source: idfi.ge

Mtskheta-Mtianeti. Organized by Mtskheta Mtianeti Regional Hub and with the support of Mtskheta Municipality City Hall, on December 10th, an exhibition and sale of women entrepreneurs’ products was held in Mtskheta. The purpose of the exhibition was to summarize the 16-day campaign against gender-based violence, which has been celebrated in 187 countries since 1991. Mtskheta-Mtianeti regional hub, with the financial support of the Eesti Pagulasabi/Estonian Refugee Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, implements the project: "Supporting IDP and conflict-affected women's sustainable livelihoods through entrepreneurship in Georgia".  Within the project, a total of 90 war-affected women received entrepreneurial grants. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On December 5-8, 2022, representatives of civil society organizations visited Brussels. The obligations assumed by the Association Agreement and the European Commission’s 12 recommendations were the two main subjects of the meetings with the EU institutions. Since 2014, various civil society organizations, led by the Open Society Georgia Foundation, have been monitoring the fulfillment of the responsibilities undertaken by Georgia under the Association Agreement and the Association Agenda and reporting the findings to the EU institutions. Within the framework of the visit, representatives of the civil society held meetings with representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament, the EU External Action Service, the EU member states accredited in Brussels, the Office of the President of the European Council, and the think tanks. The meetings were focused on areas that are fundamental for the progress and development of the country, such as justice, the fight against corruption, media freedom, children’s rights, and other important issues. Read more… Source: osgf.ge

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) is delighted to invite you to an international hybrid conference -Good Governance Forum 2022 (GG Forum 2022). Date: December 13, 2022 Time: 13:00-18:30 (UTC/GMT+4) The topic of the Forum is Accelerating Decentralization: Best Practices and Innovative Solutions. The event aims to explore global trends, good practices, needs for Eastern European countries, and innovative methods to deal with their challenges in developing democratic principles and implementing decentralization reforms at the local level. Check out the Good Governance Forum panels and speakers. Read more… Conference details... Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. December 9 is the International Anti-Corruption Day. Last year, Transparency International Georgia wrote that if left unchecked, corruption was expected to rise, which would cause more and more damage to the country, including creating more obstacles for its democratic development. According to the organization’s assessment, unfortunately, their predictions have come to pass. “The fact that the problem of high-level corruption was included in the 12 priorities set by the European Commission for Georgia is the result of it having gone unchecked for years. That is why the fight against corruption was named as one of the clear prerequisites for Georgia receiving the EU membership candidate status. Despite this reality, no effective steps have been taken in the last year to tackle corruption, especially high level corruption and state capture. On the contrary, we have observed the deepening of kleptocracy, where government officials use their political power to appropriate the wealth of the country. More and more cases of alleged high-level corruption are coming to light and are ignored by relevant authorities”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. Since Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Georgia’s application for EU membership and the Commission’s decision regarding the candidate status, anti-Western messages have particularly strengthened in Georgia. Along with pro-Russian and ultra-right groups, members of the parliamentary majority are no longer shying away from attacks on the country's Western partners. Four deputies who left the ruling party in June 2022 founded the public movement "People's Power", which is distinguished with anti-Western messages. The “Georgian Dream’s” improper dissent of former members’ anti-Western statements and, in some cases, the concurrence of messages, raised doubts in public about the formal nature of the movement's separation from the ruling party. In order to study the statements of "People's Power" and the government representatives’ responses to them, ISFED analyzed political posts published on the Facebook pages of the television companies of PosTV and Imedi as the main communication channels of the mentioned actors. The results of the research… Source: isfed.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...

Regions. Supported by the European Union in Georgia, UNICEF conducted information meetings for parents living in the regions of Georgia. 180 parents attended the meetings in Gori, Ozurgeti and Baghdati on positive parenting skills. The video... Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. As public is aware, on November 16, 2021, the Public Defender of Georgia, by order No. 157,[1] set up a group of specialists/experts in order to assess the adequacy and timeliness of the medical services provided to accused/convicted Mikheil Saakashvili. In accordance with the mandate of the Public Defender of Georgia, the goal of the group of experts, since its creation, has been to monitor the medical services provided to the patient. The group has not been involved in the treatment of the patient. Since information about the significant worsening of Mikheil Saakashvili's health condition has been actively disseminated in the recent period, the Public Defender decided to carry out another monitoring. Accordingly, on December 4, 2022, four experts arrived at the VivaMedi clinic in order to personally examine Mikheil Saakashvili and check the relevant medical materials, and on December 5, in order to obtain additional detailed information on specific issues, one of the representatives of the expert group met with Mikheil Saakashvili’s doctor at VivaMedi. The purpose of the visits on December 4-5 was to evaluate and describe the patient's condition, complaints and symptoms, as well as to assess the dynamics in relation to the previous visits, within the competence and capabilities of the Public Defender's group of experts. According to the monitoring: After the last assessment (27.04.2022), the patient's condition has deteriorated sharply and should be assessed as severe; Deterioration in neurological status, worsening of anemia, anorexia and gastrointestinal processes are observed. Sharp and rapid weight loss, declining muscle mass, fever. The patient is also suffering from cachexia, which is a condition with a severe prognosis; Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) is delighted to invite you to an international hybrid conference “Good Governance Forum 2022” GGForum2022. Date: December 13, 2022 Time: 13:00-18:30 (UTC/GMT+4) Venue: Zoom, live stream on IDFI Facebook Page The topic of the Forum is Accelerating Decentralization: Best Practices and Innovative Solutions. The event aims to explore global trends, good practices, needs for Eastern European countries, and innovative methods to deal with their challenges in developing democratic principles and implementing decentralization reforms at the local level. The event intends to do this by engaging local and international experts and all relevant stakeholders from various sectors around several key-related issues: decentralization reform, transparency and accountability of local municipalities, public participation in local decision-making processes, digitalization of municipalities, and local service delivery. Read more… Complete your registration (not later than December 12, 2022) through the following link… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. In the scope of the 2022-23 “National Security and Public Policy” program, a week-long module on National and International Security has ended. The lectures were delivered by Tornike Turmanidze, a research fellow at GFSIS.  The “National Security and Public Policy” training program is implemented by the Rondeli Foundation with the financial support of the US government. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On December 1 and 2, the Human Rights Protection and Investigation Quality Monitoring Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia (MIA) held a meeting with the Task Force on Ending Violence against Women and Girls (Task Force on EVAWG). The meeting was attended by Aleksandre Darakhvelidze - Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Niko Tatulashvili - adviser to the Prime Minister of Georgia on Human Rights Issues and Tamar Sabedashvili - Deputy Representative of the UN Women in Georgia. discussed the outcome of the activities carried out in combating domestic violence and/or violence against women in recent years, the existing challenges and ways forward. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the network

Adjara. On December 2, in Batumi, the Education Development and Employment Center (EDEC) held a summary meeting within the framework of the project “Master of My House - Capacities to Confidence Building”. The goal of the event was to introduce new services in the field of technical services in Georgia and present the activities and achieved results of the “housemaster” profession, also discussing the importance of vocational education and career orientation, and revealing the challenges in the housing sector. Find out more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network