Dear Fellow Citizens

In accordance with the Constitution of Georgia, “The firm will of the citizens of Georgia, is to establish a democratic social order”. The Constitution expresses the will of the entire Georgian nation and every Georgian citizen, regardless of their race, skin color, language, gender and faith, to form a democratic state by a common effort.

It is impossible to reach this goal without respecting and protecting human rights and freedoms since they constitute one of the basic safeguards of democracy.

Human Rights encompass the interests of each and every citizen and the best tool for its protection is to secure the supremacy of the law. Being an ombudsman, my ultimate goal will be to reinforce the supremacy of the law.

After my election by the Parliament of Georgia, as a Public Defender, my obligation is to protect your rights and freedoms.

As a Public Defender, I am required to:

• Provide feedback on statements and claims by the citizens of Georgia, foreign citizens staying in Georgia, persons without citizenship and NGO-s, dealing with violations of rights and freedoms set forth by the Constitution of Georgia and law, international treaties and covenants, to which Georgia is the party.
• Check whether human rights and freedoms are violated at places of detention, pre-trial detention and other places of arrest.
• Run civic education campaign in the field of human rights.

I will make my best effort not to neglect any of the facts when children’s rights are infringed, rights of the aged are disregarded, employees are treated unfairly, the ownership right is violated, the prisoner is tortured or treated inhumanly, minorities are suppressed, persons with different views are targeted and their freedom illegally violated.

I would like to reassure you that your claims and statements will be studied by my office fairly and in a timely manner.

Public Defender of Georgia