NGOs call on UN Committee on the Rights of the Child not to elect Sopo Kiladze as its member

Fifty-three non-governmental organisations call on the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) not to elect  the ruling Georgian Dream parry MP Sopio Kiladze, who currently chairs the Parliament’s Human Rights Committee, as a member of the CRC.

In a joint statement the NGOs say that the Georgian government has ignored UN recommendations on the candidate selection process and nominated Kiladze, who several times has made homophobic statements against minorities and does not respect human rights.

According to the requirements of the UN, the elections should be held through an open competition. The candidate should meet the highest moral standards and should have knowledge and experience in a particular field. Unfortunately, the Georgian government did not take the recommendations into account. Kiladze was secretly selected. Moreover, the government did not even disclose information about the beginning of the candidate selection procedures. Civil society heard about it from the official website of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, after the candidate had been already nominated “, reads the statement.

Due to the opaque selection process, no one else’s candidacy was discussed in Georgia, which is a violation of the recommendations of the UN.

The organisations also mention that Kiladze does not have sufficient knowledge in the field of childrens’ rights.

In a joint statement NGOs say that the continuation of official duties as the head of the Parliament’s Human Rights Committee should be a conflict of interest for Kiladze, because that a member the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child should be an independent candidate.