On June 3, 4 and 5, 2024, a delegation of the Public Defender of Georgia paid a visit to Portugal and held meetings with Portuguese Ombudsperson Maria LúciaAmaral, Head of the Portuguese Commission for Equality at Work and Employment (CITE) Carla Eliana da Costa Tavares, Deputy Prosecutor General of Portugal Carlos Adéritoand Supreme Court Vice President, Judge Nuno Gonçalves.

At the two-day working meeting held at the Office of the Portuguese Ombudsperson, representatives of the Public Defender of Georgia received information about the powers and work experience of the Portuguese Ombudsperson. They talked about the details of reception of citizens and hotline services, the mediation function and the rules for consideration of cases on the basis of citizens’ applications or on their own initiative, decision-making and reporting practices. The working principles of the National Preventive Mechanism were discussed at the meeting with Miguel Feldman, Head of the National Preventive Mechanism of Portugal.

It should be noted that sharing the experience of European national human rights institutions is very valuable and important for the Public Defender’s Office in the European integration process ongoing after receiving the candidate status of the European Union.

Within the framework of international cooperation, human rights institutions of Georgia and Portugal signed a memorandum on further cooperation and sharing of best practices.

At the meeting with representatives of the Commission for Equality at Work and Employment, representatives of the Public Defender’s Office received information about the work of the commission, labour rights of employed women and men, cases of wage difference, child care leave and other benefits, dismissal on the basis of gender discrimination, deadlines and procedures for making mandatory decisions; They also discussed the activities of the commission in the direction of raising public awareness.

Introductory meetings were held at the Supreme Court and the Chief Prosecutor's Office, where representatives of the Public Defender received information about the work of the systems and their relationship and cooperation with the ombudsman institution.