On December 10, 2017, in connection with the international Human Rights Day, the Public Defender of Georgia, the EU Delegation to Georgia and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights held a special event in the vicinity of Freedom Square in Tbilisi.

Within the framework of the campaign, Nino Lomjaria, Public Defender of Georgia, Dorota Dlouchy–Suliga, Head of the Political Section of the EU Delegation to Georgia, and Vladimir Shkolnikov, OHCHR Senior Adviser for South Caucasus, spoke about human rights and freedoms for the purpose of raising public awareness of the principles of human rights. The Public Defender and representatives of the Public Defender's Office explained the role and functions of the Public Defender's Office and gave citizens booklets about the activities of the Public Defender's Office and other symbolic gifts.

The Public Defender of Georgia released an address to the population of Georgia in connection with the Human Rights Day.

"On December 10, 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is the first universal document on human rights and serves as basis for international human rights standards. Despite its declaratory nature, for decades, the Universal Declaration has turned into customary law and has been reflected in the constitutions of many countries.

In her famous report, on the 10th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1958, Eleanor Roosevelt, the first lady of the United States, noted that universal human rights begin in small places, close to home, the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. December 10 is a day when each of us should realize that everyone is equal and enjoys equal rights, respect for which should serve as basis for all areas of social, political and economic life.

Today, 70 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we can say that the modern international community has made significant progress, but we still encounter complex challenges across the world. Limited democratic space, inequality and discrimination, restrictions on the freedom of speech and freedom of expression are an incomplete list of the problems, elimination of which are on the agenda of human rights defenders.
On the background of a number of challenges, the need for the existence of the ombudsman, human rights national institutions, is obvious. National institutions, committed to the UN Paris Principles, play an important role in the protection of human rights and freedoms, while their recommendations and findings serve to lobby the public's interests.

The Public Defender of Georgia has been protecting human rights in the last 20 years and it will continue so in the future too. The Public Defender's Office will not spare efforts to ensure that every person can feel the improvement of his/her rights situation," said Nino Lomjaria.