Legal and political aspects of non-discrimination will be in focus of a conference on 3 December 2014 initiated by the group of international agencies in Georgia: Council of Europe, European Union, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Judicial Independence and Legal Empowerment Project of the East-West Management Institute (EWMI/JILEP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), American Bar Association  Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) and Open Society – Georgia Foundation (OSGF).

Caterina Bolognese, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia; Eva Pastrana - Human Rights Focal Point and EU Liaison Officer on human rights at the EU Delegation to Georgia; Shombi Sharp, Deputy Head of UNDP in Georgia; Keti Khutsishvili, Executive Director of OSGF;  Ms. Danielle Reiff, Democracy and Governance Office Director, USAID, USAID, and Mamuka Mamatsashvili Deputy Country Director of the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative Georgia will address the participants at the opening.

The workshop will bring together representatives of the Government and Parliament of Georgia, Public Defender’s Office, Constitutional Court and leading Georgian non-governmental organizations in the area of human rights.

The participants will discuss challenges, shortcomings and mechanisms of the anti-discrimination legislation adopted in Georgia in 2014, while the invited international experts will provide information about the European non-discrimination policies and best practices of non-discrimination advocacy.

Journalists are invited to attend:

Wednesday, 3 December 2014, 10:00 am, Courtyard Marriott Hotel

For press queries contact:

Sophie Tchitchinadze, UNDP in Georgia, sophie.tchitchinadze@undp.org, +995 599 196907

Ana Toklikishvili - Public Relations Coordinator, Open Society Georgia Foundation, Anuka@osgf ;  595 221 999