A/HRC/41/45/Add.1 (b) The inclusion of the prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation in the Law on Health Care (art. 6) in 2010; (c) The introduction in 2012 in the Criminal Code (art. 531) of sexual orientation and gender identity, among other factors, as discriminatory grounds to be considered aggravating circumstances when passing sentence for all the crimes provided for in the Code; (d) The prohibition of broadcasting programmes aimed at the humiliation and defamation of a person or group based, among other things, on their sexual orientation, in the Law on Broadcasting of 2012 (art. 56);6 (e) The incorporation of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Law on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (art. 1) on 2 May 2014; (f) The inclusion of the violation of human equality on the basis, among other things, of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, carrying a sentence of up to two years, in the Criminal Code (art. 142) in 2014; (g) The introduction of hate speech in the Criminal Code (art. 2391) in 2015. 7 14. The strength of this legal framework notwithstanding, all stakeholders agree that there are major issues in terms of implementation. One of these is the lack of awareness about the laws, which is connected to underreporting of crime by victims: despite the fact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse communities are among the most discriminated against in the country, only 8 per cent of the cases of possible discrimination received by the Public Defender’s Office between 2017 and 2018 relate to sexual orientation or gender identity. 8 B. Institutional and policy framework 15. In recent years, Georgia has considerably strengthened its institutional framework to ensure coordinated action with regard to human rights. Among the measures adopted are: (a) The establishment of the Human Rights Secretariat of the Administration of the Government of Georgia in 2014 to ensure coordination among the executive branch when elaborating and implementing human rights policies; (b) The identification of the Public Defender’s Office as the monitoring body for the implementation of the Law on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, in 2014. A Department of Equality has since been set up to examine cases of discrimination and make recommendations or general proposals to public and private entities. The Public Defender has highlighted, however, that the work of the office is hampered by the fact that private persons and entities, unlike public agencies and officials, do not have a statutory obligation to submit information.9 The Public Defender also monitors places of deprivation of liberty; 6 7 8 9 4 This provision has nonetheless been subject to significant criticism because the broadcasters’ selfregulatory mechanisms often refuse to discuss complaints filed by non-governmental organizations, and their decisions are not subject to appeal. This provision has been criticized by several groups on the grounds that the wording is unclear and imprecise, leading to a risk that it will be used against, rather than for the protection of minority groups. See Public Defender’s Office, “Special report on the fight against discrimination, its prevention, and the situation of equality, 2018”, available at www.ombudsman.ge/res/docs/2019042317142950340.pdf. See the 2015, 2016 and 2017 Public Defender’s Office special reports on the fight against discrimination, available at www.ombudsman.ge/eng/190308041856angarishebi/sakartvelossakhalkho-damtsvelis-spetsialuri-angarishi-diskriminatsiis-tsinaaghmdeg-brdzolis-misi-tavidanatsilebisa-da-tanastsorobis-mdgomareobis-shesakheb-2018.