Interagency Human Rights Council

Interagency Human Rights Council

The Interagency Human Rights Council was created in order to elaborate and implement a united state policy in the field of human rights. The Council is chaired by the Prime Minister of Georgia.

The authority of the Council is defined through the Decree N551 of December 13, 2016 of the Government of Georgia.

The objectives of the Council include:

• Elaboration and implementation of a unified state policy of the Government of Georgia in the field of human rights;
• Elaboration and discussion of the Human Rights Action Plan and its submission to the Government for approval;
• Coordination and monitoring of the implementation of the Action Plan.

Council Members:

• Prime Minister of Georgia – Chair of the Council;
• The Assistant to the Prime Minister on Human Rights and Gender Equality – Co-chair of the Council;
• Ministry of Justice;
• Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia;
• Ministry of Internal Affairs;
• Ministry of Education and Science;
• Ministry of Corrections;
• Office of the State Minister on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration;
• Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Affairs of Georgia – Minister or a person authorized by the Minister;
• Office of the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality;
• Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure;
• Ministry of Finance;
• Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs;
• Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection;
• Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees;
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
• Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development;
• Ministry of Energy;
• Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection;
• Ministry of Agriculture;
• Human Rights Secretariat of the Administration of the Government of Georgia;
• LEPL State Agency for Religion Issues.

Organizations participating in the activities of the Council with the right to vote:

• LEPL Legal Aid Service;
• Supreme Court of Georgia;
• Constitutional Court of Georgia;
• Human Rights and Civic Integration Committee of the Parliament of Georgia;
• Legal Issues Committee of the Parliament of Georgia;
• Foreign Relations Committee of the Parliament of Georgia;
• Office of the Public Defender of Georgia;
• Office of the Personal Data Protection Inspector;
• Elections Administration of Georgia;
• United Nations in Georgia;
• Delegation of the European Union to Georgia;
• Council of Europe Office in Georgia;
• USAID in Georgia;
• Georgian Bar Association;
• NGO – Women’s Information Center
• NGO – Civil Development Agency;
• NGO – Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association;
• NGO – Article 42 of the Constitution;
• NGO – Transparency International Georgia;
• Open Society Georgia Foundation.

Activities of the Council:

• The Council discusses, approves and presents to the Government the statements and recommendations prepared in relation to the Human Rights Action Plan;
• Creates thematic working groups in order to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the Human Rights Action Plan;
• Council sessions take place once in every 6 months and are chaired by the Prime Minister of Georgia;
• The annual report on the implementation of the Human Rights Action Plan is presented to the Council, which discusses and, no later than March 15, submits it to the Government, while the Government, no later than March 31, submits it to the Parliament of Georgia.

Organizational and analytical support to Council activities:

The Human Rights Secretariat of the Administration of the Government of Georgia administers and provides organizational and analytical support to the activities of the Council.

Other Interagency Councils

Interagency Commission for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Children’s Rights Issues

Established under Decree №550 of December 13, 2016 of the Government of Georgia.

Activities of the Commission:

• The main aim of the Commission is to develop a comprehensive implementation plan for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which shall be part of the Human Rights Action Plan of the Government.
• The Commission also supports, coordinates and monitors the fulfillment of the national and international obligations undertaken by Georgia in relation to the protection of children’s rights.

Members of the Commission:

• The Commission is chaired by the head of the Human Rights Secretariat of the Administration of the Government of Georgia. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs is the Co-chair of the Commission.
• The members of the Commission include: Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Affairs, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Corrections, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees; Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection, as well as the Assistant to the Prime Minister on Human Rights and Gender Equality.
• With a right to vote, the Commission also includes: Supreme Court, Human Rights and Civic Integration Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, Prosecutor’s Office, Legal Aid Service, Public Defender’s Office, UNICEF, Coalition for Children and Youth Welfare and NGOs: “Partnership for Human Rights”, “Georgian Association of Social Workers”, “Georgian Centre for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims”.

Interagency Commission on Gender Equality, Violence against Women and Domestic Violence

Established under Decree №286 of June 12, 2017 of the Government of Georgia.

Activities of the Commission:

• The Commission has been set up in order to elaborate action plans to implement the Resolutions of the UN Security Council on “Women, Peace and Security” for gender equality, violence against women and domestic violence, as well as to coordinate and monitor the implement the mentioned action plans.
• The Commission creates a “Group to define the status of victims of violence against women and/or of domestic violence”, which makes decisions on granting or denying the status of the victim of violence against women and/or domestic violence to a person.

Members of the Commission:

• The Commission is chaired by the Assistant to the Prime Minister for Human Rights and Gender Equality.
• The Commission includes 22 members: Ministries of Georgia; Offices of State Ministers; Prosecutor’s Office; State Fund for Protection and Assistance of Victims of Human Trafficking, the National Statistics Office of Georgia.
• With a right to vote, the Commission also includes: Public Defender’s Office, Gender Equality Council of the Parliament, Supreme Court, Georgian Public Broadcasting.

Interagency Coordination Committee on the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The committee is established by the Ordinance of the Government of Georgia N551 (November 29, 2021)

The objectives of the Committee include:

• Taking necessary measures in order to effectively implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including interagency coordination in order to fulfill the obligations under the convention, needs assessment on the central and local levels, request of information, etc.
• Taking necessary measures in order to effectively fulfill the obligations under the Law of Georgia on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
• Carrying out preparatory work, investigation, draft respective projects, proposals, recommendations;
• Establishing thematic working groups, inviting independent experts in order to draft respective recommendations and reports that fall under their competence.

Committee Members:

• The Adviser to the Prime Minister of Georgia on Human Rights Issues – Chair of the Council;
• Ministries; Head of the LEPL Agency for State Care and Assistance to Victims of Trafficking – a member of the committee; Executive head of the LEPL National Statistics Office of Georgia – a member of the committee; Head of the Legal Aid Service of Georgia - a member of the committee; Head of the LEPL Emergency Management Service under the Ministry of Internal Affairs - a member of the committee; Adviser to the Prime Minister of Georgia on regional affairs - a member of the committee; Head of the Civil Service Bureau – a member of the committee.
• Administration of the President of Georgia; Supreme Court of Georgia;  Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia;  Committee on Human rights and Civil Integration of the Parliament of Georgia; Committee on Regional Development and Self Government of the Parliament of Georgia; Committee on healthcare and social affairs of the Parliament of Georgia; Committee on education and science of the Parliament of Georgia; Committee on sport and youth affairs of the Parliament of Georgia; Legal Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Georgia; The Public defender of Georgia; Election Administration of Georgia; High Council of Justice of Georgia; National Communication Commission of Georgia; Respective local self-government bodies participate in the working process od the council with the right of consultative vote. 

In order to ensure the active engagement of the persons with disabilities, PDOs (Organizations of persons with disabilities) and the organizations representing persons with disabilities, the Committee established the Consultative Council. The members were selected based on their work experience on the rights of persons with disabilities.