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Public Defender’s Statement on Resolution of Parliament of 29 June 2020

The resolution of the Parliament of Georgia relating to the 2019 report of the Public Defender of Georgia on the situation of human rights and freedoms took effect on July 9, 2020. According to the resolution, the Parliament of Georgia instructed the state agencies of Georgia to implement certain recommendations offered in the parliamentary report published in March.

The Parliament of Georgia endorsed 80% of the Public Defender's recommendations (7% of them have been partially endorsed). The reflection of our recommendations in the resolution is not an aimmedaite precondition for their implementation. The assignment of tasks by the Parliament subjects the implementation of Public Defender's recommendations to the parliamentary oversight, which naturally increases the probability of their implementation.

The main part of the recommendations not endorsed by the Parliament of Georgia were aimed at improving the rights situation of homeless persons and LGBT+ community, education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, protection of schoolchildren from religious indoctrination, etc. The resolution also did not endorse the recommendations, which calls on the law enforcement agencies to ensure a high degree of transparency by equipping law enforcement officers participating in special operations with body cameras, installing CCTV cameras in police stations, divisions and departments, where detainees, witnesses and persons voluntrily interviewed are placed, etc.

The Public Defender of Georgia addressed the Parliament of Georgia with 35 proposals in the 2019 parliamentary report. It is important that a working group be set up in a timely manner in accordance with the Parliament's resolution to consider the above proposals.

The Public Defender calls on the Parliament of Georgia to strengthen the parliamentary oversight mechanisms in the process of monitoring the implementation of binding tasks issued by it. At the same time, the Public Defender expresses its readiness to cooperate with state agencies in all formats to fully implement the tasks issued by the Parliament.

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