Levan Ioseliani, Public Defender of Georgia, met with Johan Friestedt, Executive Secretary of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), and Ioulietta Bisiouli, a representative of the Secretariat, in Strasbourg, on May 24, 2023.

The situation of equality in Georgia, the rights of minorities, the investigation of hate crimes and the recommendations of the Public Defender developed in this direction were reviewed at the meeting.

Levan Ioseliani spoke about the special mandate of the Public Defender - the anti-discrimination mechanism, which empowers the institution to supervise and monitor the state of equality in the country. The parties also discussed the prospects of close cooperation between the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance.