The Human Rights Compliant Policing in Georgia (HRCPG) project is designed in close cooperation with the Georgian authorities and will support them in enhancing monitoring and discharging policing responsibilities in an effective and accountable manner through greater compliance with human rights standards.

It will support the development of policies and regulatory measures by the medium and high-level decision-makers at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) that will address the shortcomings identified by the European Court of Human Rights, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia (PDO) in policing. It will enhance the professional and operational capacities of police services and their officers as well as national independent monitoring and investigation mechanisms (PDO and the Service of the State Inspector - SSI) and relevant staff members to prevent police misconduct while performing their duties and to carry out effective investigations into allegations or other indications of ill-treatment, disproportionate use of force and other human rights violations, in line with Council of Europe standards and best practices.

Capacity building initiatives for police services and national independent monitoring and investigation mechanisms will also focus on policing of democratic freedoms (e.g. public gatherings), principles of ethics, issues related to juveniles and other vulnerable groups, as well as a gender-sensitive approach to policing.

In addition, the Project will also support the MIA in improving the rights of detained persons and their treatment in police custody and temporary detention isolators (TDIs). Capacity building activities for TDI staff, both medical and non-medical staff, will aim to ensure the protection of fundamental human rights, including access to adequate services, in detention facilities.

Working with national civil society organisations (CSO) is part of the Project’s design given the importance of effective involvement of CSOs in the external monitoring of police conduct is essential to ensure accountability and transparency of policing as well as public trust.

The Project builds of the Council of Europe’s successful history of co-operation with the MIA, particularly with the Department of Temporary Detention (TDI), the Department of the Human Rights Protection and Qualitative Investigation and the MIA Academy. The project represents a continuation of the previous 24-month project Juvenile and Adults Detainees Support (JADES) carried out in 2019-2021.

This Project will be implemented within 24 months, until 31 December 2023, with an overall budget of 600,000 Euros financed through the Action Plan of the Council of Europe in Georgia.