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• Statement on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls

  This joint statement is issued by the United Nations system in Georgia, the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the NATO Liaison Office in Georgia, and the Embassies to Georgia of Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

  On this International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls, we call for action to end violence against women and girls in all its forms – from sexual harassment and abuse to child marriage and  femicide. Globally, nearly one in three women have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once, the majority of them assaulted by their husband or partner.[1] In Georgia, violence against women and girls remains a critical problem despite decisive steps taken by the government and civil society to combat these horrific human rights violations. Such violence is rooted in gender inequality and is in turn further perpetuating discrimination of women and girls. As a result, our societies are less peaceful and less just, and our economies are less prosperous.

  Eliminating violence against women and girls will require strengthening and enforcing legislation and policies to protect their rights and to promote gender equality, to ensure full protection and support to survivors of violence, and to end impunity for all perpetrators. To make this happen, it is vital to raise awareness and promote women’s leadership at every stage of decision-making. We especially emphasize the urgent need to take concrete steps in order to eliminate violence against women in politics, which prevents women’s meaningful participation in Georgian democracy. According to the latest data, 54 per cent of female candidates have experienced physical, psychological, economic, or sexual violence and harassment during their election campaigns or political careers.[2] Sexist hate speech is often used against women politicians in social media, including attacks based on their gender identity, appearance, intellectual abilities, and moral criteria.[3]

  Economic violence is one of the most hidden forms of violence in Georgia, forcing the victim to stay with the perpetrator. Challenges remain in reducing the gender pay gap[4], women’s equal access to financial resources, inheritance rights, employment opportunities, recognizing and redistributing unpaid and care work. Improving child protection systems, access to education and adolescent-friendly health services is of paramount importance to combat violence against girls.

  We call on all stakeholders, including political parties, the government, civil society organizations and the media to work towards a future where women are empowered to participate fully and equally in economic, social and political life, without fear of violence or harassment.

  ___________________

  [1] Facts and figures: Ending violence against women, available at: https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/facts-and-figures

  [2] Violence Against Women in Politics in Georgia, available at: https://georgia.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2023/08/violence-against-women-in-politics-in-georgia

  [3] Election Monitoring Report: Sexism and Gender Stereotypes in Social Media, available at: https://www.undp.org/georgia/publications/gender-bias-social-media-2020

  [4] In 2022 the adjusted hourly gender pay gap equaled 15.4%. The same indicator calculated at the monthly level equaled 23.0%, available at: https://www.geostat.ge/media/57459/Adjusted-gender-pay-gap---2022.pdf 

• G7 to accelerate talks to reduce Russia’s revenues from diamonds, energy and metals

  G7 Foreign Ministers meeting in Tokyo, Japan, have reaffirmed their readiness to continue to support Ukraine and to increase economic pressure and impose robust sanctions and other restrictions against Russia.

  The Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union took part in the meeting.

  “We will reinforce our coordination on sanctions to restrict Russia’s access to critical goods and technology. We will take further action to prevent the evasion and circumvention of our measures against Russia,” ministers said in a joint statement. “In order to reduce the revenues that Russian extracts from its exports, we will accelerate our consultation on energy, metals, and all non-industrial diamonds, including those mined, processed or produced in Russia.”

  They also reaffirmed that, consistent with their respective legal systems, Russia’s sovereign assets in their jurisdictions would remain immobilised, “until Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine”. 

  The ministers also said that “Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and its announced deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus are unacceptable”. 

  “Any use of chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with severe consequences. We deeply regret Russia’s decision to revoke its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. We strongly support the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) continued presence and unfettered access at all of Ukraine’s civil nuclear sites,” the statement said.

  Concerning the South Caucasus, G7 ministers expressed their grave concern over the humanitarian consequences of the displacement of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh after the military operation conducted by Azerbaijan. They urged Azerbaijan to fully comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law, and welcomed international efforts to address urgent humanitarian needs for those who had been displaced.

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  Press release

• IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF TURKMEN-UZBEK RELATIONS WERE REVIEWED IN THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF TURKMENISTAN

  

  On October 31, 2023, on the sidelines of the meeting of the OSCE Secretary General and the heads of Foreign Ministries of the Central Asian states the negotiations were held between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov.

  During the talks, the ministers noted the active and dynamic nature of bilateral relations, and also discussed the schedule of upcoming events and meetings at the top and high levels.

  The diplomats were unanimous in the opinion that thanks to the political will of the Presidents of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the two fraternal states are implementing fruitful and effective multifaceted cooperation in a wide range of areas. In addition to that, the significant personal contribution in this direction of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan was especially emphasized.

  Along with this, the activities of the Foreign ministries of the two countries are highlighted as one of the key links in strengthening Turkmen-Uzbek relations.

  Speaking about the importance of close cooperation on regional topics, the parties noted the significance of the trilateral summit held in Ashgabat in August this year with the participation of the leaders of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, which gave new impetus to the further development of regional cooperation of the participating countries.

  The ministers noted the high level of mutual understanding between the parties and the similarity of positions in the framework of activities at international platforms, primarily at the UN. In this regard, gratitude was expressed to the Uzbek side for supporting the international initiatives of Turkmenistan. Diplomats also noted the importance of the “Central Asia+” cooperation formats, including the Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Central Asian States and the OSCE Secretary General, held today in Ashgabat.

• Statement of the United Nations in Georgia regarding the draft laws on amendments to the Tobacco Control Law

  

  The UN in Georgia maintains that the draft laws initiated in the Georgian Parliament on October 16, 2023 is damaging to public health. The proposed changes seek to exclude heated tobacco products from standardized packaging regulations, extend the sale of tobacco products with old packaging for another eight months, and modify the requirement to display brand and variant information in the state language of Georgia, by allowing also display in English.

  Protecting public health and effective tobacco control policy are paramount. Governments must act to protect public health policies from tobacco industry interference as per Art. 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Allowing these changes would prioritize the financial interests of tobacco companies over the interest of public health.

  Almost one-third of adults and a substantial portion of adolescents and young people in Georgia are using tobacco. Tobacco-related direct healthcare costs and indirect costs due to premature mortality and disability and workplace costs exceed 800 million GEL annually, with the number of deaths surpassing 11,000[1]. Addressing this situation necessitates long-term and steadfast implementation of comprehensive and effective tobacco control policies. Georgia took a positive step with the adoption of strong tobacco control legislation in 2017, which yielded initial results through effective implementation. However, to achieve a sustained reduction in tobacco use rates and mitigate its catastrophic impact, full implementation and further strengthening of tobacco control legislation and state policies are required.

  Standardized packaging regulations under the new tobacco control legislation were originally intended to take effect on January 1, 2018, then unfortunately postponed to December 31, 2022, and subsequently extended once more to July 1, 2024. This delay and other proposed changes are unjustifiable and further delays the demonstrable benefits that plain packaging provides.

  As of today, many countries in Europe and globally have demonstrated that plain packaging is an effective tobacco control measure. It reduces the appeal of tobacco products, enhances the impact of health warnings, diminishes consumer deception, and ultimately reduces tobacco consumption rates.

  We urge the Parliament of Georgia  to reject the proposed  changes and we hope that it will continue the policy announced at the highest level in the field of health protection and tobacco control, protect the legislation from the interests of the tobacco industry, including the implementation of standardized packaging of tobacco products.

  ---

  [1] UNDP/WHO/NCDC Tobacco Control Investment Case study, 2017

• Azerbaijan launches localised anti-terrorist operation in Karabakh

  Baku/19.09.23/Turan: The Azerbaijani armed forces launched an anti-terrorist operation in Karabakh on 19 September, the Defence Ministry said at noon.

  Systematic shelling, mining of territories, strengthening of combat positions, growth in the number of trenches and dugouts by the Armenian armed forces in Karabakh has caused increased tensions, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

  There is observed strengthening of combat positions with personnel, armoured vehicles, artillery and other firepower, bringing units to a high level of combat readiness, creation of additional mobilisation units, expansion of reconnaissance activities, penetration deep into the positions of the Azerbaijani armed forces to repeatedly mine cleared territories and civilian roads for sabotage and terrorist purposes, the statement said. 

  On 19 September in Karabakh, 6 people, including four policemen, were killed as a result of mines planted by Armenian saboteurs.

  Local anti-terrorist measures have been launched in the region "in order to ensure the provisions of the Trilateral Statement of November 2020, the suppression of large-scale provocations in the Karabakh Economic region, the disarmament and withdrawal of the armed forces of Armenia from our territories, the neutralization of their military infrastructure, ensuring the safety of civilians who have returned to the territories liberated from occupation and civil servants involved in the construction and restoration work and our military, as well as the restoration of the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan".

  Within the framework of the measures mentioned above, positions of the Armenian armed forces formations, their long-term firing points, as well as military means and military facilities are put out of action using high-precision weapons in the front line and in depth.

  We reiterate that the civilian population and civilian infrastructure are not targets, only legitimate military targets are taken out of action.

  The command of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation and the leadership of the Turkish-Russian Monitoring Centre have been informed about the activities," the statement said.

  Within the framework of the measures, positions of the Armenian armed forces formations, their long-term firing points, as well as military means and military facilities are put out of action using high-precision weapons in the front line and in depth.

  We reiterate that the civilian population and civilian infrastructure are not targets, only legitimate military targets are taken out of action.

  The command of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation and the leadership of the Turkish-Russian Monitoring Centre have been informed about the activities," the statement said.