Georgian government approves new human rights strategy

The Government of Georgia has approved a strategy for the protection of human rights for 2022-2030.

As Niko Tatulashvili, adviser to the Prime Minister of Georgia on human rights issues, explained, the strategy is focused on four areas: civil and political rights, justice issues; social and economic rights; equality policy; protection of the rights of citizens affected by the occupation.

According to Tatulashvili, the preparation of the strategy began a long time ago. In the process, the Georgian government was assisted by experts from the United Nations Development Program and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“The strategy will be sent to the parliament in the near future, and after the approval of the parliament, we will finally begin to actively work on an action plan that will make it possible to implement the main priorities and directions of the strategy, both in the regions and at the central level,” added the prime minister’s adviser.

According to him, the priorities relate to civil rights, political rights, social, cultural, basic areas where we live and work, Tatulashvili added. What activities should be carried out for their implementation, the government will have to determine together with international organizations, local NGOs and government agencies.

This is the second national human rights strategy adopted by the Georgian Dream government. The first one covered 2014-2020. At that time, the authorities promised that the implementation of the document would help strengthen the apparatus of the Public Defender of Georgia, anti-discrimination and personal data protection.