On April 30 and May 1, 2018, Public Defender Nino Lomjaria presented a report on the situation of human rights and freedoms in 2017 and the recommendations included in it to the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee of the Parliament of Georgia.

The Public Defender noted that even though the report’s format had been shrunk, all important information, identified and examined problems would be properly reflected in special reports, where every single case of violations of human rights would be discussed in detail.

When speaking about the violation of the right to life, the Public Defender underlined the importance of transparent, objective and timely investigation of the use of proportional force in the special operation aimed at detaining Temirlan Machalikashvili.

According to the Public Defender, as a result of monitoring penitentiary institutions, the following problems were identified: the rights of inmates at high risk facilities are violated, surveillance video recordings are kept for a short period of time, prisoners have to completely strip off their clothes during examination, prisoners have not enough space.

Situation in psychiatric facilities, poor infrastructure and extreme hardship refers to the need for increasing funding in this field.

The vicious practice of interviewing citizens by law enforcers without their consent is still problematic; there is no system of providing information about detainees to their family members or communication with lawyers. Unjustified detention, forced drug testing, legitimacy of police raids and use of proportional force during detentions are problematic. Recommendations of the Public Defender remain the same - to change the applicable repressive drug policy and to start working on eradication of gaps in the ongoing investigations into the cases of ill-treatment.

When speaking about high-profile cases, the Public Defender said that given the high international interest, it would be appropriate to set up a fact-finding parliamentary commission to investigate the disappearance of Afgan Mukhtarli. She also talked about the case of Mustafa Emre Çabuk. The Public Defender noted that the investigation into the cases of blackmailing individuals by the use of video footage showing their private life in 2016 was still pending.

The right to a fair trial is seriously endangered by delayed consideration of cases, violation of the principle of equality of arms, delivery of a verdict on the grounds of unjustified evidence, overloaded courts, disciplinary proceedings. It is critically important to change the Code of Administrative Offenses. The rule of appointment of judges and election of a court chair should be changed.

There are problems of infrastructure, medical insurance, realization of the right to take a leave or enjoy rest days in the field of defense.

47 people were killed and 106 were injured in the workplace in 2017 alone, which refers to the drawbacks in the labour legislation. Realization of the right to live in a healthy environment is hampered by legislative shortcomings and inefficiency of monitoring mechanisms; urban planning also represents a challenge; there is no list of construction materials that are hazardous for health; air pollution is critically high.

Improper legislative base and scarce financing result in social problems, including low minimum wage, demotivation of social assistance recipients, deficiencies in social assessment methodology and delays in the appointment of social assistance, as well as realization of the rights to proper nutrition and adequate housing.

Residents of the occupied territories of Georgia face challenges relating to life, freedom and ill-treatment. Their freedom of movement, freedom of expression and the right to get education in the native language are restricted.

The Public Defender indicated the necessity for moving to the needs-based approach and expressed willingness for active cooperation with the Government of Georgia for the long-term solution to the problems of IDPs.

There is no special law on eco-migrants and the budget for their housing is scarce. Counter-migration of eco-migrants is also frequent.

The quality of substantiating the refusal of granting citizenship or residence permit, as well as the applications of asylum-seekers and internationally protected persons, remains a challenge.

The Public Defender is particularly concerned about child's rights, poverty and inadequate living conditions, difficulties in enrolling children living and working on the street in the program. The state has not yet developed a system of protection and rehabilitation of child victims of sexual and other forms of violence.

Proper realization of the rights of persons with disabilities to education, healthcare, habilitation-rehabilitation, employment, accessibility, as well as participation in political and social life, remains a problem.

Social services and adequate housing are not available for significant part of older persons; programs intended for them are not enough.

The Public Defender expressed concern about the situation of violence against women and the statistics on femicide. Early marriages and engagements are frequent. Women's participation in political processes is low. Given all this, it is especially unfortunate that the Parliament did not support the draft law on quotas in political activity.

According to the report, women, persons with disabilities, LGBT community and religious minorities are among the most vulnerable groups in terms of equality; cases of alleged discrimination are most frequently seen in precontractual and labour relations.

Response to the offenses committed on the religious grounds, as well as return of historical religious property to non-dominant confessions and construction of new buildings, represents a challenge.

National minorities face the problem of civil integration, which, along with other obstacles, is deepened by the lack of knowledge of the state language. In addition, there is no media outlet in the country that would provide full information to the non-Georgian population about the developments ongoing in the country.

The Public Defender's recommendation to the Public Broadcaster concerns changes in the rule of procurement and observation of the transparency standard.

After reviewing the report, the Public Defender listened to MPs and answered their questions. Heads of 14 state agencies expressed their opinions regarding the recommendations of the Public Defender. Nino Lomjaria noted that the Public Defender's Office is working on the improvement of a mechanism of measuring the indicator of the implementation of recommendations.