The Public Defender of Georgia submitted an alternative report to the Parliament of Georgia relating to the 2024 reports of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia on the execution of decisions delivered by the European Court of Human Rights and UN Committees against Georgia.

The alternative report reviews the general measures taken by the State to execute the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights against Georgia in 2024 in the following cases: “Tsintsabadze Group”, “Identoba Group”, “Merabishvili v. Georgia” and “Thekhelidze Group”.

At the same time, the report reviews the decisions of the UN Committee against Torture, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child regarding Georgia in the cases of J.C. and J.E. v. Georgia, the case of Khanum Jeiranova and the case of Ana Arganashvili v. Georgia.

The document analyzes whether the steps taken by the State to execute the above-mentioned cases are sufficient.

The report addresses issues such as the fight against hate crimes and ill-treatment, freedom of assembly of the LGBT+ community, shortcomings in the administration of justice in cases of violence against women and domestic violence and femicide, etc.

Public Defender Levan Ioseliani presented the main findings of the 2024 Report on the Situation of Human Rights and Freedoms in Georgia at the session of the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee of the Parliament of Georgia.

The Public Defender reviewed the rights situation of people living in the occupied territories and along the occupation line and the problems of resettlement of displaced persons.

He spoke in detail about the rights violations identified during the protests in 2024; emphasized the shortcomings of the Administrative Offences Code, the legislative amendments restricting freedom of the media and expression.

He also discussed the problems identified in penitentiary institutions and the Ministry of Internal Affairs system; spoke about the protracted process of deinstitutionalization of large-scale institutions for persons with disabilities and mental health problems.

He focused on the rights of persons with disabilities, older persons, children and women, as well as the prevention of gender-motivated killings of women.

He separately highlighted the issue of the realization of the right to water, the changes to be implemented to ensure the rights to health, labour and decent remuneration; as well as the shortcomings related to the realization of the right to property.

The Public Defender spoke about the measures to be implemented for the civil integration of representatives of national minorities; elimination of discrimination against various vulnerable groups and protection of equality. He briefly reviewed the situation in terms of freedom of belief and religion.

After the Public Defender's speech, representatives of government agencies presented reports on the progress of implementation of the recommendations reflected in the Public Defender's report.

The full 2024 Parliamentary Report on the Situation of Human Rights and Freedoms in Georgia is available on the official website of the Public Defender of Georgia.

On 5 and 6 June 2025, Deputy Ombudsman and Head of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) Ivan Šelih and NPM member Katarina Vučko attended the annual conference of the European NPM Forum entitled Monitoring Police Detention and the round table entitled Combating Informal Prison Hierarchies, organised by the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg, France.

The annual conference focused on the specific challenges of monitoring police detention, which differs from other forms of deprivation of liberty due to its short duration. It is the early stages of detention that often pose the greatest risk of torture or ill treatment, in particular due to the lack of procedural safeguards such as access to legal aid, medical care, and the right to inform family members. The event aimed to strengthen the role of national preventive mechanisms in monitoring police detention and to provide them with additional knowledge and practical tools to more effectively carry out their tasks in accordance with the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture.

The roundtable was based on the position of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of D. v. Latvia (No. 76680/17, 11 January 2024) that the lowest position of a prisoner in an informal prison hierarchy can constitute a violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, even if direct physical violence does not occur. Psychological suffering, fear of violence, humiliation, and a sense of inferiority can constitute torture, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The discussion focused on the causes of the emergence of such hierarchies, their consequences for prisoners and prison staff, and presented examples of good practices and possible strategies for their elimination.

The event was also an opportunity for the exchange of experiences and professional views between representatives of state preventive mechanisms and experts in the field of the criminal justice system and prison management.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman, Judge Joseph Zammit McKeon, today visited the Institute for the Creative Arts at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) in Mosta. The visit formed part of the run-up to the Office of the Ombudsman’s thirtieth-anniversary celebrations and offered an opportunity to meet the students whose work will feature in the forthcoming exhibition 'Art for Rights: Visualising Freedom, Justice and Good Governance.'

The exhibition, to be inaugurated in Parliament next October 2025 on the eve of the international conference 'Upholding Good Governance in Challenging Times: The Role of the Ombudsman,' will explore fundamental human rights and freedoms through painting.

Twenty-one (21) MCAST students, guided by senior lecturer and artist Mr Darren Tanti and fine-arts lecturer Ms Andrea Pullicino, are participating as part of their voluntary Corporate Social Responsibility hours. During the visit the Ombudsman announced that he has invited Mr Tanti and Ms Pullicino to serve as co-curators of the exhibition who gladly accepted. The students outlined the principles that guided their individual paintings. concepts behind their individual pieces, describing the background for the subject matter of their work.

Judge Zammit McKeon stressed that the exhibition is intended to give young artists a platform in Malta’s highest democratic institution, enabling them to translate their understanding of human rights into visual form. Speaking with each participant, he underlined that the students are free to interpret human-rights themes in their own way and encouraged them to be expressive in their work, noting how art can challenge, inspire, and inform public discourse.

“Art has the power to convey complex ideas in an immediate and effective way,” the Ombudsman said. “By inviting emerging artists to take part in our anniversary programme, we aim not only to celebrate thirty years of service but also to foster a pro-active debate on the values that underpin respect for human rights.”

The ‘Art for Rights’ exhibition will open in Parliament in October 2025 and will be accessible to the public throughout the month.

The third and final day of the international workshop on “Global Network on National Human Rights Action Planning: Uncovering 30 Years of NHRAPing – Lessons from the Five Continents” at the University of Liverpool saw the active contribution of the Parliamentary Ombudsman of Malta, Judge Joseph Zammit McKeon, who delivered a comprehensive presentation entitled “Having a National Human Rights Institution: The Malta Experience.”

Speaking during the panel on National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and National Human Rights Action Plans (NHRAPs), Judge Zammit McKeon outlined Malta’s continued absence of an NHRI, despite being one of only two EU Member States without such an institution. He explained the sustained efforts of the Office of the Ombudsman to advocate for a model whereby the Ombudsman would also serve as Malta’s NHRI, aligning its functions with the Paris Principles. His address detailed the evolution of this proposal, engagement with national authorities, and the process undertaken with the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) to draft and propose a new Ombudsman Bill aimed at expanding the Office’s human rights mandate.

The Ombudsman also presented the key features of the proposed Bill, which would give the Office a dual function—investigating maladministration and protecting human rights—while reinforcing its constitutional and operational independence. He emphasised that Malta’s context does not require the establishment of a new body, but rather an enhancement of an already trusted institution. His remarks concluded with reference to the 2024 UN General Assembly Resolution recognising the important role of Ombudsman institutions in promoting and protecting human rights and the rule of law.

The full text of the Ombudsman’s presentation can be downloaded from here.

Today’s workshop programme covered a wide geographical and thematic range. It began with the Asia-Pacific session chaired by Dr Azadeh Chalabi, featuring experiences from Taiwan, Thailand, Nepal, and Southeast Asia. A subsequent panel chaired by Dr Jolita Miliuvienė, Parliamentary Ombudsperson of Lithuania, focused on participation and cooperation, with speakers from the Council of Europe, Georgia’s NHRI, the UN OHCHR, Türkiye, and the UNDP. The panel featuring Judge Zammit McKeon was chaired by Dr Stéphanie Lagoutte from the Danish Institute for Human Rights and included contributions from Professor Giorgio Repetto of the Università di Perugia, Italy, and Ms Anita Cavdarbasha Korenica, Deputy Ombudsperson of Kosovo.

Later sessions featured perspectives from Latin America, with representatives from Mexico, Brazil and civil society experts discussing innovative mechanisms for monitoring human rights and linking national efforts to regional and international frameworks. The event concluded with a session mapping the next steps for the global network on NHRAPs, as participants agreed to build on the momentum and establish a lasting platform for collaboration, mutual support, and shared learning.