BackOn March 30, 2018, Nino Lomjaria, Public Defender of Georgia, submitted a report on the situation of human rights and freedoms in 2017 to the Parliament of Georgia.
The 347-page report, covering the year 2017 while also analyzing problems created in the preceding period that continued during the reporting period, discusses the challenges and progress in the protection of human rights and freedoms enshrined in the constitution and names the state agencies and local self-governmental bodies that violated human rights and freedoms. The document also provides information about the implementation of the recommendations issued by the Public Defender.
The report provides evaluation of the proportionality of the use of force and effective investigation of the cases of deprivation of life. In this regard, the report gives the death of Temirlan Machalikashvili during the special operation conducted in the Pankisi Gorge in December 2017 as an example. The document analyzes problems, including infrastructural, in the penitentiary, temporary detention and psychiatric facilities. It is noted that despite the numerous requests of the Public Defender to launch investigations into the cases of alleged ill-treatment by law enforcers, the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has not identified any responsible persons yet.
The right to liberty and security are often violated during ordering the pre-trial and extradition detentions, the terms of administrative detention have been increased and the practice of drug testing is still unregulated. In regard to the right to a fair trial, the Public Defender discusses the institutional problems in the court, degree of independence, frequency of delay in considering cases by the Court of Appeals and frequent changes in the composition of courts.In regard to the right to privacy, the report emphasizes the inefficiency of the investigations into the cases of exposure of private life, as well as unconstitutionality of and practical deficiencies in the legislation regulating surveillance. Effective implementation of the regulations aimed at protecting the right to equality is, among other factors, prevented by inadequate legislative safeguards and misconceptions spread in the community.
The report also deals with the defective electoral system, as well as the lack of legislative guarantees for the protection of cultural heritage monuments, safety at work and alarmingly high rate of deaths in the workplaces. The document emphasizes the need for improving the applicable legislation for the realization of the right to live in a healthy environment.
Furthermore, a proper realization of the rights to education, health, habilitation-rehabilitation, employment, accessibility, participation in political and social life by persons with disabilities are still important issues. Four years have passed after the ratification of the UN Convention, but the country has no effective enforcement mechanism yet, while the Parliament of Georgia has not yet ratified the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The grave socio-economic situation of older persons and lack of targeted programs for them are among the unresolved problems.
The Public Defender indicates the need for transition to an approach adjusted to the needs of IDPs and expresses readiness to cooperate with the Government of Georgia. To read the full press release on the published report, please refer to the document in the download section below.
Source: Public Defender of Georgia
