EU and UN reaffirm commitment to support Georgia in protecting human rights

Georgia celebrated Human Rights Day 2016 with a series of events on December 10.

The day saw a street rally on Rustaveli Avenue – the main street of the capital city, Tbilisi, where the Public Defender of Georgia, Ucha Nanuashvili, responded to the questions of the citizens about the key human rights issues related in the country.

Later the same day, the Government of Georgia hosted a Human Rights Day reception which brought together top government officials, senior diplomats, representatives of civil society, international organizations and the media.

Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia; Irakli Kobakhidze, Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia; Janos Herman, Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia; Niels Scott, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Georgia, Christian Urse, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia, and Ucha Nanuashvili, Public Defender of Georgia, opened the event.

"Today and every day, the European Union stands up for human rights worldwide, working with all who do the same. Also in Georgia, human rights are at the heart of our cooperation. By the Human Rights for All Programme, we actively promote the protection and enforcement of human rights for everyone in Georgia, in particular the more vulnerable groups, including women, children, minorities and people with disabilities," said Janos Herman, Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia.

The celebration of Human Rights Day 2016 was organized by the Government of Georgia and Public Defender of Georgia, with assistance from the European Union (EU) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the EU-funded initiative “Human Rights for All”.

"Human rights is the choice of Georgia's people and the foundation of the country's development and international integration. The United Nations stands ready to support Georgia in every possible way to achieve greater protection of human rights," said Niels Scott, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Georgia.

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December. It commemorates the day on which, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year, Human Rights Day is sending an alarm message about disrespect for basic human rights that continues to be wide-spread in all parts of the globe, and calls on everyone to step forward and defend the rights of a refugee or migrant, a person with disabilities, an LGBT person, a woman, a child, indigenous peoples, a minority group, or anyone else at risk of discrimination or violence.