Ekaterine Skhiladze, Deputy Public Defender of Georgia, attended the Annual General Meeting of the European Network of Equality Bodies (Equinet) in Brussels on September 29-30, 2016. The network's activities and future plans were discussed and the situation in terms of strengthening the capacity of equality bodies was evaluated at the meeting.

Particular attention was paid to the issue of institutional arrangement of equality bodies, their independent functioning and the advantages and disadvantages of their integration with the national human rights mechanisms. The challenges facing the equality bodies, capacity building and partnership with human rights institutions were also discussed.

The Deputy Public Defender of Georgia took part in the thematic working group – strengthening the capacity of equality bodies and the progress of implementation of the development standards. She talked about the the main directions and challenges in the Public Defender’s activities. In particular, she emphasized the need for further improvment of legal environment, the importance of informational-educational activities and the resources of the Human Rights Academy of the Public Defender. She also reviewed the principles and standards used by the Public Defender in the fight against discrimination.

The Public Defender's Office has been participating in the activities of the European Network of Equality structures under the observer’s status since 2014. The network brings together 46 equality bodies from 34 European countries, which work in the field of elimination of discrimination and promotion of equality.