On February 5, USAID/PROLoG-supported a panel discussion on Human Rights in the Era of Fake News. Sixty people attended the event, including students and professors. The event was organized by Ilia State University Human Rights Chair, Tamar Gurchiani, in cooperation with the Tbilisi Shelter City international project. Speakers of the event were: Svitlana Valko, Executive Director, international human rights, NGO Truth Hounds; Sebastian Van Der Zwaan, Director of NGO Justice & Peace; Maria Kvitsinskaia, Analyst, Social Organization Crimea SOS; and Sergey Fedulov, Journalist, Human Rights House Voronezh. Ilia State University Adjunct Lecturer Tamar Kordzaia moderated the event.
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201915Feb
USAID/PROLoG Supports Public Discussions on Human Rights
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201918Jan
Participants of USAID/PROLoG’s July Study Tour Share their Experience with Colleagues at the Tbilisi Court of Appeals
On January 11, participants of the July 2018 USAID/PROLoG study tour shared their experience with colleagues at the Tbilisi Court of Appeals. The presentation was attended by 20 participants, including judges, judicial assistants, clerks and court staff. USAID/PROLoG representatives Bakar Jikia and Robert Maghlakelidze were also present.
Judges Tamar Oniani, Khatuna Arevadze and Giorgi Gogiashvili discussed their experience in the U.S., where the study tour participants held a number of meetings with key institutions of the U.S. judiciary system in Washington DC and San Francisco.
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201831Dec
Participants of USAID/PROLoG’s October Judicial Exchanges Share their Experiences with Colleagues
In October 2018, USAID PROLoG brought 8 Georgian first instance judges to Washington DC as part of its expanded judicial exchange activities. USAID/PROLoG seeks to ensure that the knowledge gained through each activity reaches beyond the participants of the exchanges and asks the participants to share key lessons with others. In that connection, the following activities recently took place
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201831Dec
USAID/PROLoG Supports Human Rights Academic Conference
On December 11, the National Institute for Human Rights at Free University organized the Third Annual Human Rights Conference within the framework of its USAID/PROLoG grant. The topic of the conference was the First Republic of Georgia and a retrospective on the political and legal aspects of the Republic. The topic was selected to commemorate the 100 years anniversary of the First Republic.
Noted scholars and researchers in the field discussed such issues as Georgia’s announcement of independence in 1918, international recognition of new Georgian state, the very progressive constitution of the democratic Republic, which endorsed equality before law, including of minority groups; the defense and security policy of the First Republic, the relationship between church and state, and many other interesting topics that are still relevant today.
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201831Dec
Annual University Human Rights Week Successfully Completed
From December 3-10, under the framework of its USAID/PROLoG grant, Free University Tbilisi and nine other leading Georgian law schools organized the annual University Human Rights Week. Human Rights Week is an annual event that celebrates December 10 as Human Right Day and discusses human rights issues relevant to the legal community in Georgia. The main goal of the University Human Rights Week is to raise awareness of human rights issues among university students and other young Georgians, as well as instigate more active academic discussion on these topics.
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201831Dec
USAID/PROLoG Continues Support of Human Rights Trainings for Judicial Assistants
From December 14-17, two two-day workshops on human rights were organized for judicial assistants from the regional courts of Georgia. The two parallel workshops were conducted by human rights experts Besarion Bokhashvili and Ekaterine Lomtatidze, and addressed topics such as Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (right to a fair trial). The workshop also worked to develop the legal assistants’ legal writing and substantiation skills.
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201826Dec
Participants of the October 2018 Study Tour Share Their Experience with Judicial Assistants and Clerks at the Tbilisi City Court
On December 19, three Tbilisi City Court judges, participants in the October 2018 USAID/PROLoG study tour to Washington, DC, shared their experience with 22 judicial assistants and clerks at the Tbilisi City Court. These young legal professionals represent the largest group of potential future judges in Georgia, hence it is important to deliver the knowledge judges learn during judicial exchanges to them. USAID/PROLoG Deputy Chief of Party Neil Weinstein, as well as Judicial Education and Exchange Coordinator Bakar Jikia, were also present.
Judge Khatia Ardazishvili discussed her experience at the Family Court in Washington where the study tour participants had an opportunity to attend hearings in family violence cases and observe how U.S. judges were managing the courtroom and communicating with parties. Judge Ardazishvili noted how the U.S. judges adapted their approach and used less formal communication techniques with parties when necessary.
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201821Dec
Presentation of Legislative Amendments Regulating Sexual Harassment
On December 19, USAID/PROLoG supported the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament to organize a public presentation of legislative amendments regulating sexual harassment. The meeting was opened by First Deputy Chairperson of Parliament Tamar Chugoshvili, USAID/Georgia Acting Mission Director Adam Schmidt, UN Women Country Representative to Georgia Erika Kvapilova, and Head of Partnership for Human Rights (PHR) Ana Arganashvili. USAID/PROLoG expert Nino Chikhladze then presented the proposed legislative changes on the regulation of sexual harassment. Representatives of the Public Defender’s Office and Ministry of Internal Affairs then shared their views on the proposed amendments, which was followed by a discussion in Q&A format.
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201821Dec
USAID/PROLoG Supports the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence
USAID/PROLoG, together with its partners and legal aid grantees, launched the campaign “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” to raise awareness of gender-based violence and women’s rights in Georgia. 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign to challenge violence against women and girls. The campaign runs every year from November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to December 10, Human Rights Day. A series of events were organized to address the topic of the campaign, including:
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201814Dec
USAID/PROLoG Supports Conference on Women’s Labor Rights
On December 11, USAID/PROLoG supported the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament to organize a conference on “Women, Labor, Rights.” The Conference was held in the framework of Human Rights Week 2018. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the existing practices and challenges in women’s pre-contractual and labor relations, as well as future prospects for reform.
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