Georgia—Support to the Public Defender’s Office

The Republic of Georgia has experienced challenges to some of its public institutions, especially in areas related to the judiciary and democratic oversight. The Public Defender’s Office (PDO) is empowered to make recommendations to authorities in cases of human rights violations and can lodge complaints in the Constitutional Court if people’s rights and freedoms are violated by legislative acts. The PDO also plays an important educational role in promoting observance of the rule of law.

Our project supports the PDO to improve its ability to implement and monitor human rights policies and actions and raise human rights awareness across government and society.

The project is in line with the European Union’s Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy for 2020-2024, which makes human rights, democracy, rule of law, and gender-responsiveness central to its activities, including in external relations.

Sample Activities

• Strengthen the capacities of PDO’s various departments and divisions
• Raise public awareness and support for PDO’s public outreach and cooperation with civil society organizations
• Improve scores on human rights indexes and awareness of human rights issues

Select Results

• Developed a new case management system for Georgia’s ombudsperson institution that will enhance the PDO’s ability to collect data and statistics, as well as manage investigations and documentation.