The Council of Europe Project “Strengthening Protection of Social and Economic Rights in Georgia” brought together international organisations working in different areas related to strengthening protection of labour rights in Georgia. The meeting was attended by major donor organisations and Georgian stakeholders such as the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, Public Defender’s Office, LEPL Labour Inspection Office, Donor Coordination Unit of the Administration of the Government of Georgia, Georgian Employers’ Association and Georgian Trade Union Confederation. The meeting’s objective was to map and coordinate donor activities in the field, including current goals and objectives so as to help achieve a better alignment of government’s priorities and donors’ sectoral interventions.

The goal of the Project “Strengthening Protection of Social and Economic Rights in Georgia” is to render Georgia towards a more sustainable democracy, through enhancing the capacities of Georgian authorities to guarantee social rights and social services, and by contributing to the alignment of the Georgian legislation (specifically in the area of labour rights) with the European standards. The Project pays particular attention to the coordination of its actions with other donors and partners.

During the Project introductory meetings conducted by the Project team of the Council of Europe with different stakeholders, the need to strengthen cooperation at working level has been indicated by several interlocutors in order to better use synergies, to enhance existing successful initiatives, to benefit from lessons learned and to avoid possible overlaps at operational level. Therefore, the Council of Europe has initiated the organisation of a space for cooperation with international actors and the respective institutions of the host country for regular updates, networking and potential coordination of activities.

At the aforementioned Donor Coordination Meeting all the representatives introduced their agencies/organisations and their ongoing and planned activities in the field of labour rights in Georgia. They all expressed a shared wish for closer cooperation and an eagerness to continue such meetings on a regular basis so that gaps in donor activities and funding can be easily identified and their efforts improved, better targeted and streamlined. All international organisations have joined together to coordinate and cooperate further to ensure a more effective and rapid improvement of the state of labour rights in Georgia.