On 16 May 2022, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG) signed a grant agreement as part of their joint project on “Strengthening participatory democracy and human rights at local level in Georgia”.
Through the grant, the Congress aims to assist NALAG and its secretariat with the tools and expertise necessary to strengthen its advocacy capacities to promote dialogue and consultations between local and central authorities in the field of human rights.
The grant will also support NALAG in its efforts to mainstream human rights standards in national and local policies and actions, and will assist the Association in establishing peer-to-peer exchanges among member municipalities to improve their understanding of human rights principles and their delivery at local level.
NALAG plays a vital role in strengthening the Georgian institutional frameworks for local governance through capacity development of local authorities in the areas of good governance, transparency, accountability, and combatting corruption. The Associations also fosters an inclusive approach toward citizens’ participation in local decision making processes, and is a central actor in promotong decentralistaion and supporting consultations and dialogue between central and local authorities on all areas of concern for municipalities.
The grant will be implemented from 16 May 2022 to 30 June 2023 and amounts to 49,745 Euros.
The project “Strengthening Participatory Democracy and Human Rights at Local Level in Georgia” is implemented by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and the Directorate General of Democracy, Division of Elections and Participatory Democracy, within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2020-2023 with the financial contribution of the Austrian Development Cooperation. The project aims to strengthen institutional frameworks for citizen participation, support local authorities and their national association in their efforts to protect and promote human rights and ensure that civil society organisations have real impact on local decision making.