Council of Europe Commissioner urges Georgian Gov’t to ensure “effective implementation” of anti-discrimination legislation, improve worker, environmental rights protection

Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, on Friday issued recommendations for the Georgian Government to combat LGBTQI+ discrimination and ensure worker and environmental rights protection.

Mijatović published a report that followed her visit to Georgia in February, with the recommendations also involving issues of ensuring prevention of discrimination against religious minorities.

The Commissioner has called on Georgian authorities to address “inadequate implementation” of legal standards and “persistent deficiencies” in combating impunity for hate crimes and incitement to violence, and to remove the discriminatory barriers to the enjoyment of the rights of the marginalised communities.

She also said LGBTQI+ people remained affected by instances of hate crime and pervasive discrimination in Georgia, and said a priority should be placed on raising awareness among the public and training relevant categories of professionals on the importance of their role in promoting equality, dignity and non-discrimination. 

The recommendations involve notes for authorities to adopt “comprehensive measures” enabling LGBTQI+ people to exercise free speech and assembly rights, while also ensuring legal gender recognition for transgender individuals without invasive medical requirements in a “quick, transparent, and accessible manner”.

Mijatović also urged authorities to ensure effective investigation, prosecution, and dissuasive and proportionate sanctioning for hate crimes committed on the grounds of religion, and to remove discriminatory barriers in accessing places of worship and in regulating tax and religious property matters. 

Noting a decade of deregulation and the abolishment of labour inspection in 2006 had led to a “significant deterioration” in the protection of labour rights in Georgia, she welcomed the recent comprehensive legal and institutional reforms and urged the Georgian authorities to close the remaining legislative gaps by establishing a minimum wage compliant with international standards, by ensuring equal access to parental leave, and by developing clear guidelines on the duration and compensation for overtime work. 

“It is now important to ensure a full implementation of the labour standards, including the anti-discrimination provisions”, she said, adding it was “crucial” to provide the Labour Inspectorate with sufficient and adequately trained human resources and an appropriate budget. 

While welcoming recent progress in the reduction of workplace accidents, the Commissioner called on the Georgian authorities to further improve occupational safety at the workplace. She also recommended promoting and supporting diversity and equality at work, including with regard to the integration of persons with disabilities. 

Mijatović also called on national bodies to strengthen the implementation of the existing national legal environmental framework, to guarantee public access to information, as well as meaningful and transparent public participation in environmental decision-making processes at various levels of Government, as well as to improve air quality and the tracking of air pollution.