Public Defender Says Discrimination Remains a Challenge in Georgia
By Tea Mariamidze
Friday, May 3
Georgia’s Public Defender, Nino Lomjaria says that five years after the adoption of the Anti-Discrimination Act, there is still a number of challenges in the process of achieving equality, mainly related to the ineffective implementation of the legislative framework practice and the existing stereotypes in the society.
She noted that for the effective struggle with existing challenges, it is important to involve all stakeholders - government, civil sector or international partners and have effective cooperation.
In 2018 the Public Defender's Office examined 158 facts of alleged discrimination. According to their information, most of the statements were related to alleged discrimination in the public sector (69%), as in previous years.
In most cases, Ombudsman was addressed regarding the cases of sex discrimination – 16%, followed by discrimination on the religious grounds 13%, discrimination based on different political views – 9% and ethnic discrimination – 8%.
Regarding the discrimination, Public Defender issued 16 recommendations and 6 general proposals last year.
According to the Ombudsman's Office, in total, up to 650 applications have been studied since the adoption of Anti-Discrimination law, also, informational meetings/trainings with schoolchildren, teachers, journalists, with the interior ministry and prosecutor's office, private companies and various public servants were held.
“Adoption of the Anti-Discrimination law is a significant step for Georgia, however, soon the Public Defender revealed material and procedural and legal shortcomings, which hampered the action of the statutory framework for the practice. Ombudsman has noted these flaws several times since 2015,” the statement of Ombudsman’s Office reads.
The statement also mentions positive developments, e.g. definition of sexual harassment was reflected in the legislation of Georgia and from now it is considered as a form of discrimination.
The Parliament of Georgia supported the relevant amendment to the law on "Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination" with the third hearing on February 19. Also, the definition of sexual harassment was recorded in the Law on Gender Equality, under which sexual harassment is prohibited at workplaces.
Lomjaria believes that one of the main achievements of the anti-discrimination law is social debates and raising awareness about discrimination that promotes a tolerant environment for vulnerable groups.
The Parliament of Georgia adopted the Law on "Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination" (Anti-Discrimination) Law on 2 May 2014.
The aim of the law is to eliminate all forms of discrimination and to ensure that everyone equally enjoys their rights established by the Georgian legislation.
According to the same law, the court and the Public Defender of Georgia have been granted the function to eliminate and supervise discrimination facts.
