EU Ambassador: a lot of work still needed to build a solid human rights culture in Georgia
The EU reports that it has allocated more than 100 million GEL for the protection of human rights in Georgia, adding that up to 40 human rights projects are underway in the country with their support. Photo: Carl Harzell/Twitter.
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EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell has stated that a lot of progress has been made in Georgia, noting that ‘a lot of work is still needed to build a solid human rights culture and to avoid any backsliding on results achieved.’
The principle of equality is absolutely fundamental and guides all our work here in Georgia and globally. It is about everyone’s right to be treated equally, and about everyone’s responsibility to stand up and safeguard these rights,” Ambassador Hartzell said.
The EU observes Human Rights Week from December 3 to December 12 in Georgia along with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in partnership with Georgian Public Defender.
On Human Rights Day, we celebrate how far we’ve come and plan the next steps to realise equality. Over the week, human rights activists, professionals, students and many other people in all their diversity joined our video series to say #AllHumansAllEqual. W/@UNDP @Ombudsman_Geo pic.twitter.com/fq5epOHx3B
— EU Delegation Georgia ???????? (@EUinGeorgia) December 10, 2021
This year’s Human Rights Week focuses on ‘the needs and persisting challenges related to equality and discrimination.’
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually on December 10, which commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, that ‘grants the rights of every individual, without distinction based on nationality, gender, national or ethnic origin, religion, language, or any other status.’
UNDP Head in Georgia Nick Beresford has urged the Georgian government, political and civic leaders to prioritise the fight against discrimination and to protect the rights of all citizens without exception.
The EU reports that it has allocated more than 100 million GEL for the protection of human rights in Georgia, adding that up to 40 human rights projects are underway in the country with their support.
Women human rights defenders involved in activism in Georgia are set to be honoured in Tbilisi in the latest edition of the Kato Mikeladze Award, with the awards ceremony organised by Women’s Fund in Georgia set to select the recipient out of 10 nominees on Monday.
International delegations to Georgia have called for ‘resolute action’ to prevent violence against women and girls on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The delegations said that Georgia has achieved ‘notable progress’ in recent years to combat gender-based violence. However, they maintained that Georgian women and girls still face violence both in their ‘private and public lives.’
Lawrence Meredith, Director for Neighbourhood East and Institution Building at the European Commission and Carl Hartzell, Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, have visited Imereti and Adjara to highlight the EU’s support to Georgian regions. The visit, which took place on 20-21 October, centred around the EU’s Economic and Investment Plan for Georgia and focused on connectivity issues in and around the Black Sea.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell says that when the coronavirus is ‘turning the world upside down’ he ‘cannot think of a better place to be right now than here in Georgia.’Hartzell states that there are no easy answers regarding COVID-19 and that the EU is suffering much from the virus.“Just look at the pictures coming out of Spain and Italy these days. In this context I would like to congratulate the Georgian government and the Georgian politicians for doing what all evidence suggest is the right approach – to act early and to act robustly,” Hartzell said.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated that the government is currently working on a second strategy for national human rights which will ‘respond to internationally achieved progress in the protection of rights.'
The Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) has released a statement about human rights challenges in Georgia on International Human Rights Day which is marked today.
The Social Justice Centre (SJC) has released a report about human rights challenges in Georgia on International Human Rights Day marked today.
The Women, Peace and Security agenda of the United Nations Women Organisation, and the role of women in conflict prevention and peaceful resolution, were in the focus of a meeting between Tea Akhvlediani, the Georgian State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality, and Kaori Ishikawa, the UN Women Country Representative in Georgia, on Friday.
Plans for strengthening the capacities of the protection of human rights and agencies of the Interior Ministry were on the agenda of a meeting between Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, the Georgian Deputy Interior Minister, and Kaori Ishikawa, the United Nations Women Country Representative in Georgia, on Tuesday.
Tea Akhvlediani, the Georgian State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality, discussed the humanitarian situation in Georgia’s Russian-occupied breakaway regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) with Nick Beresford, the UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia, on Thursday.
An action plan for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities has been submitted to the Prosecutor General of Georgia for approval, the Prosecutor's Office announced on Tuesday.
Russia’s war and aggression against Ukraine has already started to affect the Georgian economy, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell said on Wednesday.
The Government of Georgia on Thursday approved the second National Strategy for the Protection of Human Rights for the years 2022-2030, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announced.