On January 22-26, 2018, Public Defender Nino Lomjaria is paying an official visit to Strasbourg. Presentation of the Public Defender’s speech on “Human Rights in Georgia” is scheduled within the framework of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The Public Defender will talk about human rights trends, challenges and the changes carried out in Georgia in 2017. The presentation will be attended by members of the national delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the ambassadors accredited in the Council of Europe and other officials of the Council of Europe.

Meetings are scheduled with representatives of the Council of Europe. In particular, the Public Defender will meet with Guido Raimondi, President of the European Court of Human Rights, Gianni Buquicchio, President of the Venice Commission, Nils Muiznieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, ChristosGiakoumopoulos, Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe, Claudia Luciani, Director of the EuropeanCommissionagainstRacism and Intolerance, andFrederikSundberg, Deputy Head of theDepartmentfor the Execution ofJudgments of the EuropeanCourt of Human Rights.

The Public Defender will discuss the rights situation of persons living in the occupied territories and along the dividing line, as well as the situations of justice, ill-treatment, equality, right to privacy and freedom of expression in Georgia and challenges in the mentioned fields. She will also talk about the ongoing reform in the penitentiary system and the necessity for establishing an independent investigative mechanism.