A/HRC/42/34
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Committee against Torture, which are both
overdue. The most recent reviews of Georgia before these Committees took place in 2002
and 2006, respectively.
B.
Administration of justice and law enforcement
12.
OHCHR continued to support the justice sector, focusing on building the awareness
and capacity of judges and court staff, especially of the Supreme Court, to apply
international human rights standards. Activities focused on economic rights, equality and
combating discrimination (especially on the basis of religion and sexual orientation) and
access to justice for persons with disabilities.
13.
Based on a request for assistance from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and in close
cooperation with its representatives, OHCHR developed a comprehensive curriculum on
human rights for the Police Academy. In the context of the ongoing reforms within the
Ministry, it is planned that 1,200 investigators will participate in training based on this
curriculum as of February 2019. Furthermore, OHCHR conducted training sessions for the
police and the Prosecutor’s Office on the effective identification and investigation of hatemotivated crimes.
14.
OHCHR also pursued its well-established cooperation with the Georgian Bar
Association, and its training continued to be integrated into the professional courses for
practising lawyers.
15.
At the same time, OHCHR takes note of information it received from the Public
Defender of Georgia indicating that internal checks and balances within the judiciary are
lacking, and specifying that her Office had been documenting violations of due process
guarantees. The Public Defender noted that her Office was advocating for institutional
reforms to strengthen the independence of the judiciary.
16.
OHCHR is not aware of any progress in addressing the concerns raised in its 2018
report to the Council regarding the case of archpriest Giorgi Mamaladze, who was accused
of plotting a murder, and the abduction of the Azerbaijani journalist, Afgan Mukhtarli. 11
Other individual cases raising concerns about the administration of justice in Georgia were
brought to the attention of the Senior Human Rights Adviser during the reporting period.
C.
Combating torture and ill-treatment
17.
As recognized by various national and international mechanisms, 12 Georgia
continued making progress in combating torture and other types of ill-treatment within the
penitentiary system. In that regard, the establishment of the Office of the State Inspector
was the most significant achievement in the reporting period. The Law on the State
Inspector Service, adopted on 21 July 2018, endows that entity with the former mandate of
the Data Protection Inspector and mandates it to investigate allegations of serious human
rights violations involving law enforcement officers. This reflects the will to address the
long-standing issue of ineffective investigations into human rights abuses committed by the
police, the Prosecutor’s Office and penitentiary officials, which has generated a sense of
impunity and undermined public trust in law enforcement agencies. OHCHR has been
advocating for the creation of the Office of the State Inspector since 2014, and has
participated in various meetings and discussions concerning its establishment. It considers
the Law to be a significant step forward and underlines the need to allocate sufficient
financial and human resources to the Office of the State Inspector to ensure its effective
functioning, in accordance with the Law.
11
12
A/HRC/39/44, paras. 15–16.
See, for example, A/HRC/31/57/Add.3.
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