On July 17, 2025, the Public Defender of Georgia submitted a report to the United Nations for the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of Georgia. The alternative report deals with the challenges facing the country in the following areas: the situation of human rights in the occupied territories of Georgia; the right to life; prevention and investigation of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment; national minorities; economic and social rights; freedom of expression and assembly.

In the report, the Public Defender drew attention to the systemic challenges relating to the protection of human rights in the occupied territories of Georgia, such as: the ban on Georgian-language education, illegal detentions and imprisonment, “borderization”, and arbitrary restrictions on freedom of movement by de facto regimes, which in turn hinders local residents’ access to healthcare. The report emphasizes the need to restore access for international organizations to the occupied regions.

In the context of the right to life, it is noted that the cases of alleged torture and murder of Georgians in occupied Abkhazia and Akhalgori have not yet been properly investigated and no one has been punished. The report also reviews the shortcomings of the ongoing investigation into the deaths of people during the natural disaster in Shovi in 2023.

The report highlights the practice of ill-treatment by law enforcement agencies during the crackdown on protest rallies and the ineffectiveness of investigations into the aforementioned crimes.

The report also focuses on the challenges in terms of the protection of economic and social rights, the situation of freedom of expression and assembly, etc.

The Universal Periodic Review established by the UN Human Rights Council aims to improve the human rights situation in UN member states. Within the framework of this mechanism, the situation of human rights is reviewed in all UN member states every 4-5 years.

It is noteworthy that the Public Defender of Georgia has been actively cooperating with the aforementioned human rights mechanism since 2010, both by submitting periodic reports and by directly participating in the sessions of the Human Rights Council.