Mtskheta-Mtianeti. On March 17, 2022 at the Tserovani #3 Public School , Rondeli Foundation organized a lecture - "the role of the United States in the process of Georgian state-building", led by Rondeli Foundation Senior Research Fellow, Ambassador Giorgi Badridze. The lecture was held in the frames of “Community Youth Engagement in the regions of Georgia” project, which is funded by the US Embassy in Georgia. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information publishes the article: Russian Information Warfare against the Lugar Laboratory. “Besides the above-mentioned disinformation, the accusations against the Lugar Laboratory periodically appeared in Russian and pro-Russian media. It has been accused of spreading the Swine flu, creation of biological weapon used in Syria, production of a biological weapon by the US, etc. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the laboratory once again became a target of Russian disinformation and it was blamed for spreading the virus. For effective dealing with such challenges, it is essential to enhance the collaboration between decision-makers, civil sector and cybersecurity specialists in order to ensure the implementation of strategy for countering Russian disinformation and cyber threats”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Imereti. Local Democracy Agency Georgia, within the framework of the project "Civil Society STAR Initiative", provided consultations to youth and representatives of civil society and community organizations in Kharagauli and Zestafoni municipalities. The meetings are being organized 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. Executive Director of IDFI, Giorgi Kldiashvili, is taking part in the Community of Practice Session III "Leveraging Transparency to Counter Foreign Illiberal Influences: The Role of Legislatures" organized by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and Open Government Partnership (OGP).  Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. Civic activist Samira Bairamova has become a threat target by a violent, pro-Russian group over her protests. GYLA represents and protects her rights. GYLA calls on the investigative body: Take appropriate measures to protect the safety of Samira Bairamova; Make a clear statement that the actions of the violent groups will not go unpunished; Investigate all threat-containing episodes promptly and identify responsible persons. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. The civic activist Samira Bayramova has become the victim of violent threats by pro-Russian violent criminal group Alt-info. Samira Bayramova expressed her peaceful civic protest against Alt-info opening their office in her hometown Marneuli and their Kremlist aggressive politics. she painted Ukraine and EU flags on the exterior of the Alt-info office. Following this peaceful protest, Samira became the target of violent threats. TDI calls on the government of Georgia to: “Immediately investigate and prevent each threat against Samira Bayramova and other activists; To prevent the activities of the criminal group Alt-info and to bring their leaders to criminal justice”. Organization expresses its full support and solidarity towards Samira Bayramova and all citizens, activists and journalists who have become victims of pro-Russian violent group Alt-info. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Samegrelo. On March 16 the Child Rights Center has been inaugurated in Zugdidi Shota Meskhia State Teaching University. The event was attended by UNICEF Representative in Georgia, Ghassan Khalil. The center will help to raise awareness about children's rights among specialists in various fields, civil society organizations, representatives of the scientific field, parents and children. Child Rights Center has been established with the funding from Norway. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. The practice of creating obstacles for independent journalists from the Russian Federation while entering Georgia in parallel with the ongoing war in Ukraine raises doubts that David Frenkel, was not allowed to enter Georgia on a discriminatory basis due to his journalistic work. The member organization of the coalition "Rights Georgia" on behalf of David Frenkel has already submitted the administrative complaint before the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia and demanded the annulment of the decision on denial of entry. Read more... Source: rights.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 information of the TDI, as Russia wages war in Ukraine, the step-up in the activity of pro-Russian violent extremist groups has taken an alarming dimension in Georgia. Appalling incidents of antisemitism have been reported. Also, several Georgian Orthodox clergymen have made hateful antisemitic statements that echo the messages coming from the Russian Patriarchate. Read more… Source: tdi.ge

Tbilisi. Human Rights Center publishes the informational blogpost on the successful cases. Read more… Source: www.hrc.ge

Tbilisi. According to the information of the TI Georgia, notwithstanding five years of its inception, the monitoring mechanism of public officials’ asset declarations, has failed to become a powerful tool for combating corruption. Public officials are massively failing to comply with declaration rules, while the Civil Service Bureau limits itself to imposing fines or issuing warnings, and disregarding most cases of concealment of property as well as cases of conflict of interest and incompatibility of duties. Read more… Source: transparency.ge

Tbilisi. GYLA believes that the package of powers of the President of Georgia stems from her status, according to which she is the head of state, the guarantor of the country's unity and national independence. According to the organization Georgian Dream statement serves to punish Salome Zurabishvili for her Positioning, which damages the institution of the President. Read more… Source: gyla.ge

Tbilisi. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the UN Women and the National Agency of Public Registry. “UN Women and the National Agency of Public Registry of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia will cooperate in strengthening gender equality and women's empowerment”.  Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. According to the assessment of the IDFI the president has not violated the constitution of Georgia. “The President’s competency in foreign policy is limited and mostly is implemented with the Consent of the Government of Georgia. But this does not mean that the President’s each action or inaction that affects foreign policy needs Government’s permission. Without government’s consent, the President is not allowed to conclude international treaties or to vote in international organizations, however as the head of the state, the President is not prohibited from expressing her views on foreign policy inside or outside the country, especially during the informal meetings. More precisely, not all steps taken by the President in terms of international cooperation will depend on the will of the Georgian Government and it cannot be considered as implementation of the foreign policy”. Read more… Source: idfi.ge

Tbilisi. UN Women Country Representative in Georgia, Kaori Ishikawa held a meeting with the State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, Tea Akhvlediani. At the meeting, the Women, Peace, and Security agenda implementation in Georgia was discussed, where parties underlined the importance of advancing the work on women’s meaningful participation in conflict prevention and peacebuilding. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Samegrelo. Taso Foundation is visiting target villages as part of the Women’s Economic Empowerment project. On March 14, the foundation held a working meeting in the village of Khabume of Chkhorotsku Municipality. Taso Foundation is implementing the project in Shida Kartli, Samegrelo, Guria, Imereti and Racha-Lechkhumi regions with the support of the UN Women and the Norwegian Government. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

Tbilisi. On March 7-8, 2022, representatives of the Public Defender of Georgia visited Rome at the invitation of the Italian National Guarantor for the Rights of Persons Detained or Deprived of Liberty, where a bilateral working meeting was held with the Italian National Preventive Mechanism and a cooperation agreement was signed. Read more… Source: ombudsman.ge

Tbilisi. The signatory organizations call on the Georgian authorities to instigate a comprehensive policy to ensure organized reception of refugees from Ukraine and bona fide support of refugees already in Georgia. “The trend of Ukrainian refugees entering Georgia may also be discerned. According to our observations, after the start of the war, asylum seekers in Georgia are mainly those Ukrainians who have relatives, family, or other strong ties with Georgia. Despite this reality, it is clear that the Georgian authorities have not taken proactive steps to organize the evacuation of refugees from Ukraine and to provide them with proper and real support in Georgia. Moreover, thousands of Ukrainian tourists, who were unable to return to Ukraine due to the war that started on February 24, 2022, remain in Georgia, and they also face the need for urgent social support”, is noted in the joint statement. Read more… Source: socialjustice.org.ge

Imereti. Local Democracy Agency Georgia, in the framework of the project "Civil Society Initiative", held meeting with the public servants who are responsible for relations with civil society organizations in Kharagauli municipality. The aim of the meetings is to promote the role of civil society in public policy. The similar meetings are planned in all municipalities of Imereti region. The meetings are being organized by LDA Georgia within the framework of the project "Civil Society 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. Georgian Public Broadcaster adopted internal mechanisms on the prevention and response to sexual harassment. The action was initiated by the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament and was implemented with UN Women’s technical support. „The mechanism regulates issues and procedures for the prevention of and response to sexual harassment in the organization. To ensure effective functioning of the mechanism, a series of capacity development trainings on sexual harassment are planned for the staff of the Public Broadcaster. The initiative is supported within the framework of the UN Women implemented project “Good Governance for Gender Equality in Georgia” generously funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway“. Read more… Source: The organization’s page on the social network

The UNCAC Coalition is a global network of anti-corruption organisations committed to human rights and democracy. “We condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a gross violation of international law and human rights. It is an affront to the United Nations Charter principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity and non-intervention in the domestic affairs of other States, which are principles reiterated in the UN Convention against Corruption. In that vein, we call on all countries, and in particular those that host major financial centres, to take swift and concrete steps to stem the flow of stolen money and to trace and freeze illicitly-acquired assets. This should include establishing central public beneficial ownership and company registers, as well as transparency measures, especially in sectors at risk of capture by corrupt interests”. Read more… Source: transparency.ge