On July 21, 2023, the Special Prevention Group of the Public Defender of Georgia made a preventive visit to the temporary placement center of the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In order to further clarify information, additional visits were made on September 18 and December 7.

The report was sent to the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for presentation of opinions. It should be noted that after the preventive visits, some changes were made in the temporary placement center, which are also reflected in this report.

The Public Defender welcomes the continued constructive and high-quality cooperation with the Migration Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, both in terms of information sharing and readiness to implement recommendations. However, despite the positive changes, there are still significant challenges that need to be resolved in a timely manner. For example, alternative measures of temporary placement in the center are not used in practice, and the state policy is not aimed at minimizing the duration of placement in the center.

The services of an interpreter are not always provided for the persons placed in the center, which makes it difficult to communicate with the staff, as well as to receive medical services.

In the absence of organized intellectual activities, little time is allocated for accessing the means of contact with the outside world. Organized activities are not offered for minors either.

The Public Defender believes that before the complete elimination of the practice of placing children in temporary placement centers, it is important to create an adapted environment for them, where there would be no depressing atmosphere typical of a place of restriction of freedom and where toys, books and other activities would be offered.