The technical project committee meeting for the “Partnership for Good Governance phase III (PGGIII) project: Combating hate speech in Georgia” took place on 15 March in Tbilisi. The project started on 1 March 2023 and will last for 3 years. 

The Council of Europe has been working in Georgia to build capacity to different state and non-state actors – public institutions and NGOs to apply the ECRI General policy recommendation N.15 on combating hate speech. In the framework of the PGGII regional project “Strengthening the access to justice through non-judiciary redress mechanisms for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in Eastern Partnership countries” the Council of Europe has provided training for different representatives of Ministries, educational institutions, law enforcement, the Public Defenders Office, human rights and minority organisations. As a result of the project, a systemic mapping report of national responses to hate speech was developed, which provides an analysis of hate speech as well as, recommendations to improve the responses to hate speech by public institutions and civil society. 
The PGGIII project on combating hate speech in Georgia will continue the engagement with stakeholders and partners involved in the systemic analyses and mapping of national responses to combating hate speech and the initiated capacity-building activities from the previous years. The project will follow up the report recommendations, with a set of activities for the central and local levels such as workshops, working groups, training activities and grants for the implementation of small actions. The partners approved the workplan for the project for the upcoming period as well as, the terms of reference for the Technical Project Committee. The main purpose of the Technical Project Committee is to advise on the project's implementation, review the progress and planning of the outcomes and monitor and guide the implementation of activities.

The “Partnership for Good Governance” (PGG) is a joint initiative of the European Union and the Council of Europe for strengthening good governance in the Eastern Partnership region. PGG provides tailor-made support to Eastern Partnership countries to bring their legislation and practice closer to European standards in the fields of human rights, rule of law and democracy. Progress in the EU accession agenda is in focus for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, as are improved European perspectives for Georgia.