Protection of Human Rights in Georgia

Is there occasion for celebration?

“Georgian government meets XXI century with 130 hunger-strikers in prison, roofless jails and police regime” – civil society organizations (CSO) declared at the meeting held at the Public Defender’s office arranged for the Human Rights Day, December 10.

National CSO are concerned with continuous violation of the human rights. They state that it is even more alarming that the confirmed perpetrators of violations go unpunished. CSO representatives say even the violations of the basic human rights by the government officials are frequent.

Tina Khidasheli, of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) says human rights violations by the public officials are everyday reality. “Protection of the human rights is not taken seriously by the government,” Khidasheli states.

Human rights activists consider that repeated statements by the government of Georgia regarding its commitment to the principles of human rights are used to create an appearance of belonging to the democratic community. However, activists say, the reports by the Human Rights organizations and the US State Department are not so optimistic.

A bulk of the human rights violations takes place in the prisons; “In 2002 beating of suspects in pre-trial detention facilities increased” says human rights activist Giorgi Lagidze. He claims 3-4 suspects out of 10 brought in the pretrial detention facilities are beaten.

While the problems in preliminary detention facilities are the most apparent examples of violations, the government also fails to ensure respect to the human rights in many other areas. Public Defender Nana Devdariani says, “we may well claim that the [human rights] violation is when the government fails to pay [due] salaries and pensions to the citizens.”

Nana Devdariani states, December 10 should serve as a reminder to all citizens of Georgia, that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights protects their rights and they should make the government accountable for its deeds.

“We can say there are improvements in the protection of Human Rights, as NGO sector and independent media serve as watchdogs. This is the basis of the civil society. Next stage will be to make the improvements in the field of human rights protection,” Public Defender believes.

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