BackThe report presents the challenges and progress in terms of protection of constitutional rights and freedoms in 2019 and discusses the situation in terms of compliance with the recommendations/proposals made by the Public Defender.
The Office of the Public Defender of Georgia received 6,737 applications about violations of human rights. Of these, 5,039 applications were admitted for the consideration of merits. There is a hotline in the Public Defender’s Office that is open 24 hours to citizens to receive information or report breach of human rights. In 2019, 9,438 calls were received.
399 visitors to the Public Defender’s Office received legal consultation in Tbilisi office. Regional offices of the Public Defender’s Office (Eastern and Western Georgia) provided consultation to 4,448 interested persons over the telephone and in person. 990 meetings were held with the attendance of population and representatives of various local organisations.
In 2019, as a result of the examination of individual applications, the Public Defender drafted and issued 75 recommendations/proposals.The majority of the recommendations were addressed to local self-governments (19); as regards government agencies, most recommendations were addressed to the Ministry of Justice (10). In 2019, five constitutional complaints and fourteen amicus curiae briefs were prepared.
As a result of the examination of citizens’ applications, in total, 405 visits were paid to penitentiary establishments, psychiatric establishments as well as temporary detention isolators and police agencies. 1,728 accused/detained persons were visited in total. Besides, within the National Preventive Mechanism, 88 visits were paid to closed establishments. Employees of the Public Defender’s Office paid 15 visits to study the legal status of foreigners, among them, asylum-seekers and persons granted international protection placed in penitentiary establishments. To monitor asylum procedures and territorial accessibility, eleven visits were paid to the state border throughout the country.
5 Special Reports were preparedin 2019 concerning human rights protection in the fields such as sanitation and hygiene in public schools of Georgia; the right to fresh air, sexual and reproductive healthcare, childcare system, inclusive education, the effectiveness of an investigation, selection of judges of the Supreme Court ofGeorgia, juvenile justice, conditional early release of prisoners and disciplinary proceedings against prisoners.
Source: Office of the Public Defender of Georgia
