Public Defender’s Office says it studied 153 cases of alleged discrimination in 2022
Levan Ioseliani was elected as the new Public Defender last month. Photo: Public Defender’s Office
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The Georgian Public Defender’s Office on Tuesday said it had studied 153 alleged cases of discrimination last year, with the highest number related to alleged discrimination on the basis of opinion.
In its eighth annual report on the state of equality - which studies issues related to women, persons with disabilities, ethnic and religious minorities, members of the LGBT+ community and other groups - the Office said the alleged discrimination of opinion had been shown in 20 percent of the cases.
It also added 13 percent of the applications involved alleged gender-based discrimination, while 11 percent pointed to alleged sexual discrimination.
In the report, 10 percent of applicants complained about discrimination based on ethnic grounds and two percent had applied to the Office for alleged religious discrimination, while another two percent claimed they had faced discrimination for membership in a trade union.
The body has issued 10 recommendations, three general proposals and prepared two ‘friend of the court’ opinions on equality issues in response to the cases outlined in the report.
Levan Ioseliani, the newly appointed Public Defender, said on Tuesday the report had highlighted “a number of important issues”, including alleged harassment against women.
He said all cases provided in the report were “equally important”, and pledged his commitment to react to them “strictly”.
The Georgian Parliament on Tuesday supported the candidacy of Levan Ioseliani, an opposition MP from the Citizens party, for the position of the Public Defender of Georgia, in a move that concluded a delayed period of candidate selection and vote for the position.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Tuesday praised Levan Ioseliani, an opposition MP from the Citizens party, as a “worthy” nominee to become the country’s new Public Defender.
Levan Ioseliani, the newly appointed Public Defender of Georgia, on Sunday visited the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili and 13 other inmates currently undergoing treatment at the Vivamedi civilian clinic in Tbilisi.
Levan Ioseliani, a member of the Citizens opposition party and Vice Speaker of the Parliament, on Monday said domestic political forces not engaging in the agenda set by the European Union for Georgia for granting the country the membership candidate status would be “counterproductive”.
Levan Ioseliani, the Public Defender of Georgia and Tamar Gvaramadze, the Deputy Public Defender, on Thursday featured in a meeting organised by the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions to enhance promotion and protection of human rights.
Georgian Public Defender Levan Ioseliani discussed human rights and his country’s efforts to obtain the European Union membership candidate status later this year at meetings with United States officials during his first official visit to the country in the position, his office said on Tuesday.