On 18-20 of October 2017 a study visit for the members of the National Preventive Mechanism against torture (NPM) and staff representatives of the People’s Advocate (Ombudspersons) office of the Republic of Moldova is organised to the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia in Tbilisi. The Moldovan delegation consists of 13 participants and is headed by Mr Mihail Cotorobai, People’s Advocate of the Republic of Moldova.
The main objective of the three day study visit is to enhance knowledge and capacities of the staff members of the Moldovan Ombudsperson’s office and the NPM to implement their mandate effectively and efficiently in the light of the on-going reforms of the Ombudsperson’s institution. This will be achieved by means of exchange of experience and gaining insight into the institutional, substantial and operational aspects of the functioning of the Public Defender’s office and the NPM of Georgia.
In his welcoming address Mr Nanuashvili, Public Defender of Georgia, underlined that as the main human rights institution of Georgia, the Ombudsperson’s office has a wide mandate in human rights protection, including human rights education. During 20 years of functioning the Ombudsperson’s institution faced many challenges and underwent many reforms. Currently, the institution has an ‘A’ status under Paris Principles.
Mr Cotorobai thanked the Georgian counterpart for openness and readiness to share their experience. He highlighted the importance of this visit, given the ongoing reform process of the Ombudsperson’s institution of Moldova. Mr Cotorobai also reiterated the interest in the Georgian experience particularly related to the functioning of the NPM.
During the 3 days visit the delegation will discuss number of topics from structural to operational matters. Special importance is given to sharing experiences regarding implied methodologies for monitoring visits to different places of deprivation of liberty, drafting of reports and formulation of recommendations, effective interaction with civil society and communication with society, as well as human rights education. Moreover, an important segment of the study visit is visits to places of deprivation of liberty, where the delegation has the opportunity to see in practice how the Georgian NPM conducts preventive visits.
The study visit is organised in the framework of the CoE project “Support to Criminal Justice Reforms in the Republic of Moldova”, funded by the Danish Government. The activity falls within one of the objectives of the project: Institutional capacity developed to implement the mandates of the Ombudsperson and the National Preventive Mechanism in accordance with international standards recognised in the UN Paris Principles and the UN/CoE conventions against torture.
