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• PARLIAMENT ELECTING LEVAN IOSELIANI AS PUBLIC DEFENDER OF GEORGIA

  The Parliament endorsed the candidacy of Levan Ioseliani for the post of the Public Defender of Georgia with 96 votes.
  According to the Rules of Procedure, the voting was held without discussion. The Speaker, H.E. Shalva Papuashvili congratulated Levan Ioseliani on his election as Public Defender and wished him fruitful work.

  Levan Ioseliani addressed the MPs.

  "It is a significant day in my life because, at this time of great difficulty for our country, I was given a great duty. I want to convey my gratitude to everyone who placed their trust in me for this opportunity", - Levan Ioseliani noted.

• International Ombudsman Institute Revokes Membership of High Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia

  The Board of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) has revoked the membership of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation for violating the principle of professional ethics and impartiality. The statements made by the Commissioner in relation to Ukraine following the unlawful invasion of the Russian Federation of the sovereign nation of Ukraine, including statements that appeared to justify the unlawful invasion, served as basis for the above decision.

  The International Ombudsman Institute was established in 1978. It is the only global organisation cooperating with more than 200 independent ombudsman institutions from more than 100 countries worldwide. The IOI Board of Directors consists of 24 members elected from 6 regions of the world.

  The Public Defender of Georgia has been a member of the IOI Board of Regional Directors for Europe since 2019 and a member of the IOI International Board of Directors since 2021.

  The Public Defender of Georgia, as a member of the IOI International Board, supported the above decision.

  Public Defender of Georgia

• USAID and Public Defender’s Office Sign Intergovernmental Agreement

  On June 28, 2022, a Government-to-Government Agreement was signed between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Public Defender’s Office.

  The aim of the new partnership is to promote human rights in Georgia and to strengthen the activities of the Public Defender's Office, especially in the regions.

  In his opening remarks, Peter Wiebler, Mission Director of USAID/Georgia, briefly reviewed the Government-to-Government Agreement, cooperation and importance of Georgia's democratic development.

  The Ambassador of the United States of America spoke about progress in the direction of the protection of human rights in Georgia and underlined the activities of the Public Defender’s Office, great efforts that the staff of the Office make every day to establish equality and tolerance in the country; She also thanked representatives of the Office for their professionalism and dedication and said that the direct grant provided for by the USAID project was a sign of great confidence and support to the Public Defender's Office.

  Public Defender Nino Lomjaria thanked the US Government and the American people for the vital assistance they have been providing to independent Georgia in areas of economic development, implementation of democratic reforms, strengthening of state institutions and development of the private sector for decades.

  "Today we especially need such support, as the Government, the State and public institutions, each of us, must work tirelessly in these 6 months to get the status of an EU candidate country. These 6 months are a crucial period for our future.

  Until the end of my term of office, we, the entire Office, will be working to use this trust and support to monitor and support protection of human rights, democracy and human rights reforms in the country. However, I would also like to point out that the achievement of results under this agreement depends not only on our efforts. I think the willingness of other state agencies is also necessary and a lot depends on coordination and joint efforts in such a historic period," said the Public Defender.

  Giorgi Burjanadze, Deputy Public Defender, reviewed the details of the agreement between USAID and the Public Defender’s Office. According to the agreement, with the support of USAID, the Public Defender’s Office will work: 1) to strengthen internal capacities to conduct more effective monitoring of the protection of human rights in Georgia; 2) to strengthen internal management processes and institutional capacities; and 3) to improve strategic communication with the audience.

  "The project will help us make our Office more efficient in tackling the challenges we face. Protection of human rights is a constant process that needs constant upgrading," said Giorgi Burjanadze.

  Public Defender (Ombudsman) of Georgia

• Findings and Recommendations of CPT Report on Ad Hoc Monitoring Carried out in Georgian Penitentiary Establishments

  On July 11, 2022, the Public Defender of Georgia organized a public discussion of the findings and recommendations of the report on the ad hoc monitoring carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) in the penitentiary establishments of Georgia.

  The ad hoc visit was conditioned by specific circumstances, including and primarily by the report published by the Public Defender in 2020, which referred to informal governance in the penitentiary system and frequent cases of inter-prisoner violence.

  In her opening remarks, the Public Defender of Georgia spoke about the importance of the recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and thanked the organization for its activities in Georgia. She also noted that the findings of the Committee's report were actually identical to the problems indicated in the Public Defender's reports. The findings include the prison criminal subculture reflected in the annual reports of the Public Defender, shortage of staff and their low qualifications, lack of rehabilitation services and the need to establish a fair and transparent parole mechanism.

  The Public Defender emphasized that violence against prisoners by prison staff no longer has a systematic character in Georgia. However, unfortunately, the repressive methods of the management of prisoners by prison staff has been replaced by the repressive management of prisoners by a small group of prisoners privileged by the prison administrations (the so-called prison watchers).

  According to Shalva Papuashvili, Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, the reports and recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the Public Defender of Georgia will help the penitentiary system improve its work; He expressed satisfaction with the fact that violence in prisons no longer has a systemic character and spoke about the supervision of the reforms in the penitentiary system by the Parliament.

  Deputy Minister of Justice Tornike Cheishvili emphasized the challenges in the penitentiary system and the readiness to solve them; He reviewed the planned legislative changes and spoke about the importance of focusing on the recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the Public Defender of Georgia.

  The monitoring report was presented by Borys Wodz, head of the CPT division responsible for visits. According to him, it is difficult to control large prisons, especially given that more than a thousand prisoners are controlled by 20-30 employees in some of the institutions. He noted that Georgian prisons do not ensure reasonable differentiation of inmates based on their criminal record and the possibility of correction (recidivists and first-time offenders are placed together).

  He also spoke about improper living conditions, saying that some prisoners repair their cells, buy furniture and equipment, but other cells are in a very bad condition. Nor is the quantitative distribution equal - different numbers of prisoners live in cells of the same size.

  Borys Wodz emphasized the lack of opportunities for engagement in activities. The vast majority of prisoners have nothing to do nor the opportunity to get an education that would have helped them avoid criminal subculture. The inadequate level of treatment of persons with mental health problems is also clearly visible.

  Deputy Public Defender Giorgi Burjanadze reviewed the activities of the National Preventive Mechanism of Georgia and noted that the main task of the Office was to find ways to solve problems. He spoke about the necessary changes, including the common issues referred to both by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and the Public Defender of Georgia, such as dividing the penitentiary system into relatively small institutions and creating a balanced infrastructure, reducing the number of prisoners, shortage of staff, their working conditions, operational capabilities and accountability.

  He singled out the issue of rehabilitation, noting that prisoners do not see the importance of engaging in activities, since the most important thing for them - parole mechanism is flawed and constant unjustified decisions cause their just dissatisfaction. The Public Defender thinks that improving the parole mechanism and focusing more on individual characteristics when making decisions would be a simple and quick method of encouraging prisoners to engage in rehabilitation activities. At the same time, this change would also reduce the influence of criminal subculture.

• USAID and Public Defender’s Office Sign Intergovernmental Agreement

  a Government-to-Government Agreement was signed between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Public Defender’s Office.

  The aim of the new partnership is to promote human rights in Georgia and to strengthen the activities of the Public Defender's Office, especially in the regions.

  In his opening remarks, Peter Wiebler, Mission DirectorofUSAID/Georgia, briefly reviewed the Government-to-Government Agreement, cooperation and importance of Georgia's democratic development.

  The Ambassador of the United States of America spoke about progress in the direction of the protection of human rights in Georgia and underlined the activities of the Public Defender’s Office, great efforts that the staff of the Office make every day to establish equality and tolerance in the country; She also thanked representatives of the Office for their professionalism and dedication and said that the direct grant provided for by the USAID project was a sign of great confidence and support to the Public Defender's Office.

  Public Defender Nino Lomjaria thanked the US Government and the American people for the vital assistance they have been providing to independent Georgia in areas of economic development, implementation of democratic reforms, strengthening of state institutions and development of the private sector for decades.

  "Today we especially need such support, as the Government, the State and public institutions, each of us, must work tirelessly in these 6 months to get the status of an EU candidate country. These 6 months are a crucial period for our future.

  Until the end of my term of office, we, the entire Office, will be working to use this trust and support to monitor and support protection of human rights, democracy and human rights reforms in the country. However, I would also like to point out that the achievement of results under this agreement depends not only on our efforts. I think the willingness of other state agencies is also necessary and a lot depends on coordination and joint efforts in such a historic period," said the Public Defender.

  Giorgi Burjanadze, Deputy Public Defender, reviewed the details of the agreement between USAID and the Public Defender’s Office. According to the agreement, with the support of USAID, the Public Defender’s Office will work: 1) to strengthen internal capacities to conduct more effective monitoring of the protection of human rights in Georgia; 2) to strengthen internal management processes and institutional capacities; and 3) to improve strategic communication with the audience.

  "The project will help us make our Office more efficient in tackling the challenges we face. Protection of human rights is a constant process that needs constant upgrading," said Giorgi Burjanadze.

  Public Defender’s Office