saqarTvelos saxalxo damcveli
Public Defender of Georgia
Conference on The Prevention of Human Rights Violations
Kyiv, 20-21 september 2011
Section 1: Preventing HR Violations in the Domestic Legal Order
The Role of National Monitoring Bodies - NHRS, NPM – and Civil Society
Introduction
Ladies and Gentlemen!
At the outset of my speech, allow me to express deep gratitude towards the organizers of today’s conference.
Being honored to be present at this event and address the esteemed audience , I would like to emphasize the
importance of this two-day meeting as a significant opportunity for discussing existing challenges related to
preventing human rights violations from different perspectives. At the same time this is an excellent possibility
to share our attitudes and visions for seeking further synergies aimed at effective solution of the problems
faced by us.
When selecting the major points for my presentation, I decided to draw your attention to 3 core issues. Firstly, I
would like to focus on the role of National Human Rights Structures. This point has been addressed by various
conferences dealing with the work of NHRIs; however, its importance stays high on the political agenda of
different countries over the years and remains at the center of the international community’s attention.
After the brief overview of our role and the work aimed at promotion and protection of human rights, I would like
to address one of the core functions of some National Human Rights Institutions. To be more precise, this part of
my presentation will deal with the competence of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) and its
respective role in prevention of human rights violations. Being the Public Defender of Georgia and having
saqarTvelo, Tbilisi 0179, n.ramiSvilis q. 6, tel.: (+995 32) 913814/15; faqsi: (+995 32) 913841
6, N. Ramishvili St., Tbilisi, Georgia, 0179, Tel: (+995 32) 913814/15; Fax: (+995 32) 913841
been designated as an NPM two years ago, I will focus on the importance of NPM and will present the
institutional practices of the Public Defender’s Office in Georgia.
The topic of my presentation further urges us to discuss the role of the civil society in preventing human rights
violations and various aspects of collaboration between the civil society and NHRIs. Thus, I will elaborate on the
work carried out by the civil society actors in the relevant field and give number of examples of our successful
cooperation.
The role of the National Human Rights Institutions has been concisely presented in the Paris Principles of 1993.
National Human Rights Institutions are vested with the authority to implement the work aimed at human rights
protection and promotion, they are mandated to supervise and monitor how human rights are protected and draw
the attention of the authorities to the respective violations. Effective implementation of its “watchdog” and
advisory functions by the NHRI plays a crucial role in prevention of human rights violations within the State. The
question arises towards the scope and nature of specific mechanisms that might be relevant for the daily activities
of NHRIs and indispensible for its effective functioning.
As an Ombudsman of Georgia, I regard our NHRI as one of the main contributors to the promotion and
protection of human rights standards in the country. Daily activities of the Public Defender’s Office vary from
the consideration of individual or collective complaints to the preparation of complex legal analysis that later take
a form of a recommendation addressed to a relevant state body, public statement or an amicus curiae brief
addressed to the Court. Furthermore, the Public Defender submits the annual and special reports to the Parliament
of Georgia where the human rights situation in the country is evaluated. In his reports, recommendations and
statements Ombudsman addresses both systemic and individual human rights violations. Ombudsman’s
recommendations on the one hand support the restoration of a violated right and on the other hand play
preventive role while targeting systemic issues. Another important mechanism used by the Ombudsman is
examination of the legislation in force, along with the draft legislation and elaboration of specific
recommendations aimed at bringing legislation in compliance with international human rights standards and thus
excluding possible violations of fundamental rights at the legislative level.
When developing institutional capacity of the National Human Rights Structures, it is particularly important to
bear in mind the human rights situation in the country and to ensure that NHRI adequately responds to the needs
of the society. From our perspective, it is worth mentioning, that the PDO has identified several priority
directions of its work corresponding to the needs of our society at this stage. These directions are: individual
complaints handling, monitoring and civic education.
Within the Public Defender’s Office, the main part of the monitoring activities is conducted by the
National Preventive Mechanism.
saqarTvelo, Tbilisi 0179, n.ramiSvilis q. 6, tel.: (+995 32) 913814/15; faqsi: (+995 32) 913841
6, N. Ramishvili St., Tbilisi, Georgia, 0179, Tel: (+995 32) 913814/15; Fax: (+995 32) 913841
In accordance with the amendments introduced in the Law of Georgia on Public Defender on July 16, 2009, the
Public Defender’s Office fulfills the functions of the National Preventive Mechanism as enshrined under the
Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.
In order to ensure effective functioning of the NPM, legislative guarantees have been incorporated in the
aforesaid law. The following are among the major guarantees enshrined in the legislation: unimpeded visits to any
place of deprivation or restriction of liberty without prior notification or warning; confidential interviews with the
persons whose liberty is restricted. National Preventive Mechanism shall also benefit from a right to choose the
place to visit and the person that shall be visited, along with the right of its members not to give testimony and not
to disclose the information obtained during the monitoring.
It is hard to achieve proper functioning of the National Preventive Mechanism without cooperation from the side
of administration of closed institutions, which inter alia implies their obligation, to timely provide any
information requested and facilitate the work of the preventive group.
The National Preventive Mechanism group has the competence to submit legislative proposals to the Parliament
of Georgia in order to improve the legislation in force. This function is particularly important as it provides
possibility for NHRIs to be involved in the legislative process to eradicate the shortcomings that have been
detected in practice.
In addition to the above mentioned, the NPM is preparing special reports addressing different types of closed
institutions that cover wide range of issues, such as imprisonment conditions, health protection in the closed
institutions and etc.
The daily activities of the National Preventive Mechanism can serve as a good example of how the NHRIs can
cooperate with the civil society and ensure the joint action for human rights. The work of NPM is performed by
the employees of the PDO as well as invited experts. Experts working for the NPM are mainly recruited through
the open selection process. Most of the experts come from various NGOs active in the field of human rights,
health, psychiatry and childcare. Experts participate in preventive visits and are afforded same rights and
competences as the core team members of the NPM. In practice Georgian NPM currently runs joint projects with
leading local NGO focused on further strengthening of a monitoring body in cooperation with local civil society.
The NHRIs can further cooperate with the actors of civil society in different fields. For example, the Public
Defender’s Office in Georgia has signed different MoUs with the number of NGOs in Georgia. The MoUs
incorporate the will of the signatories to cooperate when addressing the Constitutional Court of Georgia. As a
saqarTvelo, Tbilisi 0179, n.ramiSvilis q. 6, tel.: (+995 32) 913814/15; faqsi: (+995 32) 913841
6, N. Ramishvili St., Tbilisi, Georgia, 0179, Tel: (+995 32) 913814/15; Fax: (+995 32) 913841
result of this collaboration, the assessment of legal acts in the human rights perspective is performed by the
number of institutions that give us the possibility to cover diverse issues, which is hard to achieve within the
ambits of one institution.
Reaching the concluding point of my presentation, I would like to get back to the point that arose in the very
beginning of my speech: the role of NHRIs. In my opinion, whatever specific functions might be the major
aspect that remains as a standby for carried out competences – is the role taken in development and enhancement
of democratic values in the country.
The achievement of this goal requires gradual completion of certain stages. Attainment of democratic values is
impossible without securing the respect to the rule of law. Neither is it realistic to form a democratic state devoid
of the protection and promotion of human rights and freedoms.
Democracy is a state where the principles of human rights are brought from inspiration to impact. NHRIs have
the benefit to contribute to this process and be responsible for the positive developments in their countries.
Expressing the hope that we will have an opportunity for comprehensive and fruitful discussions on the NHRIs’
role in preventing human rights violation later this morning, I would like to conclude my intervention and thank
you for your kind attention!
saqarTvelo, Tbilisi 0179, n.ramiSvilis q. 6, tel.: (+995 32) 913814/15; faqsi: (+995 32) 913841
6, N. Ramishvili St., Tbilisi, Georgia, 0179, Tel: (+995 32) 913814/15; Fax: (+995 32) 913841