„Their Fight, Your Future“ – this is the title of a high-level meeting on the protection and empowerment of women human rights defenders that UN Women and the Council of Europe Office in Georgia will host tomorrow in Tbilisi.

The event, held symbolically on 29 November, the International Day of Women Human Rights Defenders, aims to highlight the importance of their work and its contributions to society. It is open to media and will start at 9:30 on Friday, 29 November 2024 at Pullman Tbilisi Axis Towers (Ilia Chavchavadze Avenue, N37). Language format: English/Georgian.

The objective of the meeting is to help promote a safe, enablingworking environment for women human rights defenders and encourage a national dialogue on their protection. The event will be opened by Didier Tsegbeuk, UN Resident Coordinator in Georgia, and Natalia Voutova, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia.

It will also feature speeches by Bergliot Hovland, Ambassador of Norway to Georgia; Pavel Herczynski, Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia; Robin Dunigan, U.S. Ambassador to Georgia; and Heidi Grau, Ambassador of Switzerland to Georgia. Levan Ioseliani, Public Defender of Georgia, as well as representatives of civil society and international organisations will also address the participants.

During the event, participants will discuss the crucial contributions of women human rights defenders to advancing gender equality, human rights, and social justice in Georgia. The discussions will also explore the risks and challenges these defenders face and highlight the obligations of states to ensure their protection.

The high-level meeting is being organised in partnership with the Gender Thematic Group and supported by the Government of Norway, as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign. The event is implemented under the UN Women project “Good Governance for Gender Equality in Georgia” and the Council of Europe project “Reinforcing Gender Equality and Implementing GREVIO Recommendations to Combat Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in Georgia,” which is part of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2024-2027.

Media contacts:

Ketevan Sakhelashvili, Council of Europe Office in Georgia, 599 34 24 34, [email protected]