On October 2, 2024, Georgian Public Defender Levan Ioseliani participated in the International Forum of Ombudsmen in Baku (Azerbaijan), where the role of the ombudsmen and national human rights institutions in the protection of human rights under the conditions of climate change was discussed.

At the event, Levan Ioseliani spoke about public access to information relating to climate change and its consequences. He noted that one of the priority directions of the Public Defender's activity was the supervision of the realization of the right to environmental protection; Accordingly, the Office is actively involved in monitoring the effects of climate change and has a number of mechanisms to ensure access to information.

Ombudsmen and heads of human rights institutions from different countries shared their knowledge and best practices at the forum.

The invited guests were addressed by Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Ombudsman) Sabina Aliyeva, Minister of Justice Farid Ahmadov, who conveyed President Ilham Aliyev’s congratulations to the participants, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev, UNDP Representative in Azerbaijan AlessandraRoccasalvo and OIC-IPHRCExecutive Director Noura ZaidAlrshoud. Attendees also heard a video message from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk.

Parallel to the forum, the Public Defender of Georgia personally met with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) Sabina Aliyeva.

The parties discussed the current situation in the region from the point of view of human rights protection, exchanged information about the mandate and priorities of human rights institutions of Georgia and Azerbaijan and agreed on issues of future cooperation.