On July 21, 2020, Public Defender Nino Lomjaria, at the invitation of UN Women, participated in the UN virtual high-level hearing on the theme: “Accelerating the Realization of Gender Equality and the Empowerment of All Women and Girls". The full and effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 25 years after its adoption, and the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development were discussed at the meeting.

In her speech, the Public Defender spoke about the best practices and challenges in the field of gender equality and empowerment of women and girls in Georgia; she underlined the positive results achieved in recent years, including the improvements in legislation and the development of international mechanisms. However, she also pointed to the widespread stereotypical views that hinder further progress. She also focused on problems faced by the female members of the LGBT+ community, ethnic and religious minorities, victims of domestic violence and women with disabilities, who are additionally subjected to further discrimination and therefore are even more vulnerable.

The Public Defender spoke about the femicide monitoring mechanism of the Public Defender's Office and the progress achieved through it, the mandate of discrimination and the challenges in the field of sexual harassment, as well as systemic problems related to sexual and reproductive health and rights and the activities of the Public Defender's Office.

The participants of the hearing expressed their views and shared the best practices in terms of full and effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Full video is available at: https://bit.ly/2Blh28u