On November 10, Natia Katsitadze, Deputy Public Defender, Nika Kvaratskhelia, Head of the Department of Prevention and Monitoring, and Niko Tatulashvili, Head of the Department of International Relations and Communications, attended the 23th session of the second cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, where a report on the human rights situation in Georgia was reviewed.

After the session, the representatives of the Public Defender of Georgia held a meeting with Joachim Rücker, President of the United Nations Human Rights Council, and talked about the protection of human rights in Georgia, as well as the media, freedom of expression, protection of human rights in conflict regions, labour inspection and other issues.

The Public Defender’s delegation also met with representatives of Sweden, Holland, Germany, Belgium and the Czech Republic, which took active part in the Universal Periodic Review and provided important recommendations to the Georgian Government. The sides agreed on close cooperation in implementation of the recommendations.

On November 11 the Public Defender’s delegation met with a member of the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and briefed him in detail of the efforts and future plans of the Department of Prevention and Monitoring. The Subcommittee praised the Department’s activities and a decision was made that the National Preventive Mechanism of Georgia will share its experience with other countries.

The delegation members also held meetings with representatives of international non-governmental organizations – the Association for the Prevention of Torture and the UPR Info. Activities and plans of the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia were discussed at the meeting.