Georgian Public Defender discusses human rights, Tbilisi’s EU aspirations in first official trip to US
Georgian Public Defender Levan Ioseliani held meetings in the US. Photo: Public Defender’s press office
Tweet 
Share
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.
Public Defender of Georgia Holds Meetings at U.S. @StateDept. Levan Ioseliani met with Mark Cameron, Director of the Office of EUR/CARC, Lisa A. Johnson, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of INL and @DamonMacWilson President of NED. https://t.co/CK4HuitH3g pic.twitter.com/WcB7FykW9K
— Ombudsman of Georgia (@Ombudsman_Geo) September 12, 2023
Ioseliani met with Mark Cameron, the Director of the US State Department’s Office of Caucasus Affairs and Regional Conflicts, Lisa Johnson, the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and Damon Wilson, the President and CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy foundation, the Ombudsman's press office noted.
The discussions also reviewed topics of Georgia’s domestic judiciary, the rights of prisoners, media freedom, the legal status of the non-Governmental sector and the issues of minorities in the country.
In his remarks, the Georgian official highlighted the importance of the US support for the independence of his country’s domestic institutions.
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 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.
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.
Georgian Public Defender Levan Ioseliani on Friday presented his annual report to the Parliament in which he criticised several legislative changes and said in 2022 “the situation with human rights protection did not significantly improve, moreover, there has been a significant deterioration in some areas".
The Tolerance Centre of the Georgian Public Defender’s Office on Thursday marked the annual International Day for Tolerance, declared by the UNESCO to raise public awareness of the dangers of intolerance.
Levan Ioseliani, the Public Defender of Georgia, on Thursday met with Oleksandr Korniyenko, the Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament, in Kyiv, with discussions centred around fostering cooperation between the two nations in safeguarding human rights and addressing shared challenges.
Levan Ioseliani, the Public Defender of Georgia, has applied to the National Bureau of Enforcement with a request to restrict evictions of residents who have lost their only housing during the winter.