The Public Defender submitted the annual parliamentary report to the Human Rights Protection and Civil Integration Committee of the Parliament of Georgia

The Public Defender of Georgia presented a report on the state of protection of human rights and freedoms in Georgia in 2023 at the session of the Committee on Human Rights Protection and Civil Integration of the Parliament of Georgia.

As stated in the information released by the press service of the Parliament, the Public Defender briefly presented the main findings of the report, paying particular attention to the trends highlighted in the direction of human rights protection, which require appropriate response from the government.

During the thematic review of the report, the Public Defender called the killing of Tamaz Ginturi by the occupation regime an echo of the impunity of the representatives of the occupation regime who were directly involved in the murders of Davit Bashariuli, Giga Otkhozoria, Archil Tatunashvili and Irakli Kvaratskhelia, for which the Russian Federation is responsible. He also mentioned the alleged violation of the life of Georgian citizen Temur Karbaia by the occupying forces.

"Along with the encroachment on life, the practice of illegal detention and improper treatment of citizens continues in the occupied territories; The ethnically Georgian population is not given the opportunity to receive education in their native language; And the illegal so-called the process of bordering, violation of property and other rights remains a daily challenge for the population living near the occupation line," the report states.

The public defender notes in the report that the fact of the horrifying intentional murder of 14-year-old Aitaj Shakhmirova is the result of the gaps in the prevention, suppression, protection and assistance of the victims of gender-based violence. In total, in 2023, the fact of murder of 24 women and attempted murder of 27 women was revealed.

According to Agarish, in March 2024, the Ministry of Internal Affairs granted the request of the Public Defender's Office for an exceptional review of the materials of the ongoing investigation into the Shovi tragedy, although we are still waiting for actual access to the case materials.

The Public Defender also talks about child poverty in the report, according to the report, one of the main problems of the country is child poverty. Compared to the previous year, the number of children registered in the "Unified Data Base of Socially Vulnerable Families" increased by 5.2%. The elderly are also a particularly vulnerable group of the population.

The public defender spoke at length about the problems of homeless people, legislative gaps, the absence of a unified policy, and the inappropriate environment in social housing.

"Until now, the national accessibility plan for people with disabilities and the standards for accessibility of information and communication have not been approved. The quality and continuity of inclusive education is problematic, as well as the essential participation of disabled people and their organizations in the decision-making process at different levels. Among the challenges remain the detection of the facts of violence and effective response to them", - the report of the Ombudsman states.

In addition, the report states that in 2023, challenges related to the usefulness of peaceful assembly, legislative initiatives to limit the form and content of assembly, disproportionate and, in some cases, illegitimate measures implemented to disperse assembly were relevant.

"In 2024, the majority of persons detained administratively had physical injuries, which proves that this year law enforcement officers used physical force against detainees more than last year.

The challenge in the country is the absence of a suitable safe environment for media freedom and the activities of journalists, and outdated legislation regulating access to information," the report says.

According to the Public Defender, it was worrisome to initiate drafts of the law "On transparency of foreign influence", which do not comply with the standards of protection of freedom of association and expression, as well as the right to privacy. Unfortunately, in 2024, the Parliament of Georgia adopted a law, a number of entries of which are problematic, which can become an insult to the dignity of the addressees of the law.

The Ombudsman's report notes that overcrowding of penitentiary institutions and individual cases of informal governance have been a challenge for years; Long-term, non-targeted and punitive placement of prisoners in the de-escalation room and solitary confinement; Detecting and documenting facts of ill-treatment, providing prisoners with adequate medical services and the physical environment of penitentiary institutions.

"It is necessary to improve the normative base related to the mechanism of releasing prisoners on parole or replacing the unpaid part of the sentence with a lighter punishment; as well as the effective functioning of the sentence review mechanism for convicts sentenced to life imprisonment.

Patients in psychiatric institutions are still victims of violence. The legal framework and existing policies fail to ensure that patients are treated in a dignified and coercive environment. The instructions and rules for the use of patient restraint methods have not been updated.

"The state has not taken effective steps to improve the equality policy and the situation of vulnerable groups, neither the policy documents nor the legislative regulation have been improved," the report states.

The Public Defender points out that the problem remains to eliminate the harmful practice of marriage and engagement in childhood and to properly protect girls. Effective implementation of reproductive health and rights and access to services is a challenge.

"The issue of returning religious buildings confiscated during the Soviet period to their historical owners, as well as describing and assessing the amount of damage and confiscated property, was not raised.

"The judicial system of Georgia still needs to correct legislative and institutional deficiencies, which is a prerequisite for integration into the European Union," the report reads.

The Public Defender notes that it is welcome to establish a minimum limit of hourly wages for persons employed in the medical field. However, the issue of enjoying the labor rights of those employed on the digital platform and the obligation of private employers to pay leave for pregnancy, childbirth and child care are still open.

"When reviewing the activities of the Office of the Public Defender, it should be noted that in 2023, the office received 4,849 reports of human rights violations, which were responded to accordingly. 17567 calls were recorded on the hotline. The Office of the Public Defender addressed 79 recommendations/proposals to the state agencies to eliminate the identified rights violations. 10 special reports and 3 alternative reports were submitted to international bodies. 3 constitutional lawsuits, 23 friend-of-the-court opinions were prepared and 3 communications were sent to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. In order to identify and monitor rights violations and challenges, dozens of visits were made to various institutions", the information says.