On 10 April, the Council of Europe Office in Georgia together with the Public Defender’s Office launched a series of discussions “Human Rights Talks: Equality Matters”, this time online.  The first online talk aimed at discussing  challenges and the risks posed to human rights protection by the coronavirus outbreak as well as risks of the strengthening of stereotypes related to the virus.

The event is a continuation of the series of Human Rights Talks, first organised to mark the Human Rights Day and discussing equality from various angles, such as literature, psychology, cinematography, religion.

The speakers of the online talks were Nino Lomjaria, Public Defender and Natia Panjikidze, Psychologists. Nino Lomjaria talked about human rights standards during epidemics and the protection of vulnerable groups.  Natia Panjikidze discussed stereotypes that have been strengthened recently and ways to overcome them. The discussion was moderated by Ekaterine Skhiladze, Deputy Public Defender. During the online session viewers were able to leave questions and engage in discussion.

A live stream link in Georgian is available here.

The next live discussion will be held on 15 April at 17:00.  The speaker and media expert Nino Danelia will talk about hate speech in the media during COVID19 outbreak. As before, Facebook followers have the possibility to post their questions and receive answers during the live debate.

For more information:

Human Rights Talks: Equality Matters

Council of Europe Office in Georgia Facebook Page

The I Choose Equality Campaign Facebook Page

Human Rights Talks: Equality Matters is organised in the frame of the I Choose Equality campaign run by the co-operation project “Fight against Discrimination, Hate Crimes and Hate Speech in Georgia”. The project is implemented under the Council of Europe’s Action Plan for Georgia 2016-2019 with the support of the Danish Neighbourhood Programme in Georgia (DANEP).