Georgia was reviewed at the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The previous time it was reviewed was in January 2011. For the 2015 review, members of the Human Rights House Tbilisi submitted a report on the human rights situation in Georgia, which is complementary to the one of the Georgian government.

List of progress

During the opening statement of the Georgian UPR by Ms. Khatuna Totladze, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Georgia, the Georgian delegation laid out its considerations as progress within the field of human rights, specifically beginning from 2012, the year in which the current Georgian government came to power, rather than from 2011. Included in this list of progress were; reforms in the justice sector, reforms undertaken in the law enforcement sector, reform of the Prosecutor’s office, the fight against ill-treatment, improvements to the penitentiary system, the protection of privacy and personal data, freedom of expression, religion and assembly, internally displaced persons (IDPs), women’s rights, children’s rights, the rights of persons with disabilities, labour rights, the rights of ethnic minorities, and healthcare.

An overview of the human rights situation in the regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinbali region/South Ossetia was also delivered during the opening statements.

While Georgia’s efforts to improve the human rights situation in its country were met with approval and encouragement, they did not go without further recommendations – particularly within areas where Georgia has proclaimed to have made the most progress.

Room for improvements

Despite assurances from the Georgian delegation that “torture and ill-treatment as a systemic problem in Georgia have been eradicated,” this was the subject of many concerns raised by countries throughout the day with Poland recommending that Georgia should ensure that “all allegations of excessive use of force, including torture and ill-treatment, by police are effectively investigated and that those responsible are brought to justice and victims receive adequate reparation.” Additional recommendations regarding ill-treatment and torture were also issued by several states, including the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, and the United States.  Meanwhile, countries such as Norway and Ireland raised concerns over the low-standard of conditions within Georgia’s prisons with conditions around pre-trial detention, which was also a focus of Australia’s recommendation.

While addressing the concerns and recommendations raised by many States, the Georgian delegation reiterated sentiments that torture and ill-treatment were “no longer a concern in the penitentiary system” – albeit with slightly less confident phrasing. The Human Rights House Tbilisi in its report to the UPR also underlined the progress made in regard to torture and ill-treatment in detention facilities, but underlined shortcomings, especially in regard to the rehabilitation of victims of torture and ill-treatment and the situation of prisoners with disabilities.

Women`s rights and domestic violence

High on many countries’ agendas at this session were women’s rights. In particular, Iceland recommended that, through concrete and effective policies and programs, Georgia should “undertake further measures to improve the de facto position of women by implementing international commitments from CEDAW (the Convention on Elimination of All Kinds of Discrimination Against Women) and the Beijing Platform for Action.” Other States highlighted the need for Georgia to do more on gender based violence and domestic violence, calling for concrete steps rather than further legislation. Many recommendations were also made during the session regarding discrimination based on gender/sexual orientation, the rights of persons with disabilities, IDPs, and children’s rights.

Freedom of media

The freedom of media was also widely addressed with the Czech Republic recommending that “Georgia ensure the right to freedom of expression, in particular through ensuring plurality and independence of the media as well as protection of media outlets critical to the government from harassment and attacks.” Australia surprisingly praised Georgia for an “increased level of media freedom” and encouraged to “continue to prioritize safeguarding” media freedom. However, Dunja Mijatovic, Representative on Freedom of the Media of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), recently in a statement condemned a court ruling, which ordered the replacement of the management at Georgian television channel, Rustavi 2.

A solitary recommendation that Human Rights House Network (HRHN) strongly commends and supports is Estonia’s recommendation to “condemn any smear campaign against human rights defenders.” In April 2015 we wrote to the Georgian government, calling upon political leaders in Georgia to stop slandering human rights NGOs.

Word exchange over occupied regions

In somewhat of a deviation from typical UPR agenda, Georgia and the Russian Federation exchanged charged words regarding the occupied regions of Abkhazia, Georgia, and Tskhinbali region/South Ossetia, Georgia, with several recommendations issued during the session raising concerns on the situation of human rights within these region among which was “continue engagement with the international community for ensuring access of international human rights monitoring mechanisms to the regions of Georgia, namely Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia” issued by Ukraine. Other states, such as Poland, also raised a similar concern about the inaccessibility of the occupied regions. Following a visit to Georgia in May 2014, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at the time, Navi Pillay said “South Ossetia has become one of the most inaccessible places on earth.” Granting access to the occupied regions has become a condition at minima of the international community, as also expressed repeatedly by the United Nations Secretary-General.

Georgian UPR process

Georgia underwent its 2nd review at the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR). This review takes place every 4.5 years. All UN Member States are reviewed, with equal time allocation and background documentation from the State under review itself, UN agencies, and domestic and international civil society.

During the UPR Georgia received recommendations from a total of 73 States from all regions of the globe. Georgia will have to accept or refuse these recommendations and provide an answer for each recommendation it received. Based on Georgia’s answers, the Human Rights Council will once again discuss the human rights situation in Georgia, which will be the moment at which civil society will also be allowed to officially comment on Georgia’s UPR.

The Human Rights House Tbilisi took part in extensive outreach ahead of the UPR. It took place in the UPR pre-sessions in Geneva in October 2015, organized by the NGO UPR-Info. Previously, HRHN also organized meetings in September 2015 with Georgian government agencies and diplomatic community in Tbilisi.