A/HRC/41/45/Add.1 7. Over the past decade, the country has benefited from significant progress in the political, social and economic fields, reflected in improved human development, governance, and social and economic indicators. 1 Current reforms are directed towards enhancing the independence of the judiciary, ensuring the protection of human rights and liberties, and addressing remaining challenges in the election system. 2 8. At the regional level, Georgia is a member of the Council of Europe and a participating State in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). In June 2014, Georgia signed an association agreement with the European Union and in 2016, it signed a free trade agreement with China. 9. Georgia has carried out significant legal and institutional reform on matters of gender, violence and discrimination. In particular, as part of the 2017 ratification process of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, it amended 30 normative acts to align domestic law with the Convention and adopted a plan of action for the period 2018–2020. The Independent Expert commends the State for having taken these positive steps. 10. Similar developments to strengthen the institutional, legal and policy framework related to violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity illustrate the political will of the State. Nevertheless, all State and non-State interlocutors the Independent Expert met during his visit concurred that there were major gaps in effective implementation, and there was significant disagreement on how adequate, relevant and appropriate the measures taken were, as well as the pace set for change. III. Institutional, legal and public policy framework A. Legal framework 11. Georgia is a State party to most major international 3 and regional instruments4 for the protection of human rights and it has created solid institutional frameworks for the implementation of its international obligations. 12. The Independent Expert registered a broad consensus among those with whom he spoke that the domestic legal framework contained adequate provisions conducive to the eradication of violence and discrimination. The principle of equality is enshrined in article 14 of the Constitution and, although it does not expressly list sexual orientation and gender identity among the prohibited grounds for discrimination, the Constitutional Court of Georgia ruled in 2008 and 2014 that the list is not exhaustive and should be interpreted as including sexual orientation, among other grounds. 5 13. Male homosexuality was criminalized in 1933 in the former Soviet Union under article 121 of the Criminal Code. Since Georgia achieved independence in 1991, this provision fell out of use and was officially removed from the Criminal Code in 2000. Legislative reforms to combat violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity include: (a) The incorporation of the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the Labour Code (art. 2) in 2006 and the extension of the protection to pre-contractual relations in 2013; 1 2 3 4 5 See United Nations Partnership for Sustainable Development: Georgia 2016–2020 (Tbilisi, 2015). See www.ge.undp.org/content/georgia/en/home/countryinfo/. See https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?CountryID=65&Lang=EN. See www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/search-on-states//conventions/treaty/country/GEO/RATIFIED?p_auth=CsazifUB. See Beridze v. Parliament of Georgia, case No. 392, judgment of 31 March 2008; and Asatiani v. the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, case No. 2/1/536, judgment of 4 February 2014. 3