Tbilisi, 12 October 2011

Organised by: the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) of the Council of Europe, in co-operation with the Public Defender of Georgia and with the support of UNDP Georgia.

Participants discussed the follow-up given to the recommendations contained in ECRI’s 2010 report on Georgia concerning a number of themes divided into four sessions:

  • The general situation in Georgia as reflected in ECRI’s report;
  • Legislative and institutional framework for combating racial discrimination;
  • Preventing and effectively responding to racism;
  • Integration.

The event was opened by Nils Muiznieks, Chair of ECRI. Opening speeches were given also by David Bakradze, Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia, George Tugushi, Public Defender of Georgia and Jamie McGoldrick, Resident Representative of UNDP Georgia. Eva Smith Asmussen, Member of ECRI, presented ECRI’s last report on Georgia. There was a number of speakers, including senior Georgian Government representatives. In addition to representatives of the authorities, the round table brought together the Parliament, the justice system and academia, as well as NGOs, trade unions and religious representatives.

In its third report on Georgia of June 2010 ECRI expressed its concern about persisting problems such as the fact that members of ethnic minorities still face exclusion due to their lack of command of Georgian and that Roma remain in a vulnerable position.

ECRI made also a certain number of recommendations to the Georgian authorities, among which the following three will be revisited in 2012:

  • Reform the teaching of Georgian to ethnic minority pupils;
  • Devise an integration strategy for Meskhetian Turks explaining the historical reasons for their return;
  • Improve the teaching of Georgian to ethnic-minority students of the Zurab Zhvania Public Administration School and assist, among others, ethnic-minority graduates to find appropriate jobs.

 

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