Realizing the role and importance of the Public Defender for the protection of human rights and democratic development of the country, the member organizations of the National Council of Minorities and the Council of Religions of the Public Defender of Georgia are expressing their attitude regarding the selection criteria of the candidates for the Public Defender’s position.

The member organizations of the Council of Religions and the Council of National Minorities believe that the Public Defender should have a years of experience in the protection of human rights, which should be public and visible.

In addition, in terms of the knowledge of human rights law, the candidate should have high competence and deep belief in the importance of the protection of human rights.

The Public Defender should be a strong supporter of the rights of every human being, regardless of which group he/she belongs to – the majority or the minority.

Thus, in terms of of the protection of human rights, the Public Defender should be characterized by being principled and uncompromising; He/she should not shy away from making decisions that may not be approved or shared by the Government, the majority, or any group concerned.

The Public Defender should be guided by the rule of law, the constitution and international agreements on human rights and other rights, unwaveringly protect the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, fight against discrimination and intolerance.

Therefore, in his/her actions and decisions, the selected person must be independent and free from political influence and bias, his/her activity should be neutral from a religious point of view and should contribute to civil integration.

We hope and expect that the legislative body of Georgia will be guided by the mentioned criteria when electing the Public Defender.

Council of Religions

• Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia
• Gospel Faith Church of Georgia
• Evangelical Church of Georgia
• Evangelical Church - Word of Life
• Salvation Army
• Redeemed Christian Church
• Georgian Muslims Union
• Administration of All Muslims of Georgia
• Supreme Religious Administration of Georgia's All Muslims
• Ahmadiyya Muslim Association of Georgia
• Union of Georgian Jews
• DioceseofArmenian ApostolicHoly ChurchinGeorgia
• Apostolic Administration of the Latin Catholics
• Armenian Catholic Church of Georgia
• SpiritualCouncil of YezidisinGeorgia
• Holy Trinity Protestant Church
• Evangelical Protestant Church
• Restored Apostolic Church
• Society of Friends – Quakers
• Seventh-day Adventist Church

Members of the Council of National Minorities

• Rima Garibiani - Open Borders
• Mari Mikoyan - GENERATION I
• Mari Arakelova - Union of Georgian Armenians
• Mikheil Boris - Association of Ukrainians of Georgia
• Jeikhun Narzalov - Red Bridge
• Giorgi Tumasyan- Peace Foundation
• Alexander Bezhentsev - International Youth Association of Georgia
• Alla Bezhentseva - "Yaroslavna"Association of Russian Women in Georgia
• Zaur Khalilov - Center for Civic Integration
• Eugenia Kotanidi - Federation of Greeks of Georgia
• Rashan Ziadaliev - Center for Civic Engagement and Activism
• Samira Ismailova - Civic Equality Platform
• Ali Aliyev - "Avani" Union of Avars
• Naira Bepieva - International Society “Caucasian Mosaic”

Sussana Khachatryan – “Shushanik” Association of Armenian Women in Georgia.