The News in Brief
Wednesday, October 2
By Lizi Zurabiani
We are looking forward to working together to deepen bilateral relationship- Pompeo to Gakharia
US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, congratulated George Gakharia on the post of PM of Georgia. He also spoke about the importance of deepening US-Georgia relations.
“We are looking forward to working with you in the framework of US-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership to deepen our bilateral relations in areas such as democracy and governance, economic and trade cooperation, defense and security, as well as contact between people and exchange of cultural experiences. The United States confirms its unwavering support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia, which is threatened by Russian aggression,” said Pompeo.
According to the US Secretary of State, the US is committed to the decision of the 2008 NATO Bucharest Summit stating that Georgia will become a member of Alliance.
Former US State Department official, Matthew Bryza described Gakharia’s new post as a “provocative move for demonstrations” following the June 20th events.
The ruling Georgian Dream party in parliament approved the government of Gakharia on September 8th. Opposition and the civil activists of the movement #it’s a shame, who have been demanding the resignation of Gakharia from his previous post as a Minister of Internal Affairs for three months, have been very critical of him becoming the new PM. They are already protesting his promotion.
The United National Movement and European Georgia have boycotted the government’s hearings in the committees and asked questions only in the faction format. The opposition did not take part in voting.
Georgia celebrated International Day of the Elderly on October 1st
The International Day of the Elderly was established in 1990 by UN General Assembly resolution 45/106. About one-fifth of the population of Georgia is over 60 years old, reaffirming the need for state policy on aging.
Protecting and promoting the rights of the elderly is one of the most important areas of activity of the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia. In the Annual Parliamentary report, a separate chapter is devoted to reviewing the legal status of the elderly, reflecting on the results of various cases studied by specialized agencies for the elderly (in Tbilisi and Kutaisi) and community monitoring and apparatus.
In addition to the above, the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia is actively involved in international events to promote best practice and experience in the protection of the rights of the elderly, including working with the UN Open Working Group on Aging to strengthen and promote the protection of the rights of older people. Also, to assess the rights of the elderly, the Public Defender invited the UN independent expert in 2018. As a result of the visit, Report of the Human Rights Council of the UN General Assembly was prepared, where specific recommendations were issued to the authorities to ensure the protection of the human rights of the elderly.
The findings of the Georgian Public Defender's Office on the Status of Older People indicate that challenges in the country are not individual but related to systemic problems. Among the other urgent problems is that along with the State Politics concept about the aging issues in Georgia there is no National Action Plan, the elderly age discrimination, violence, including domestic violence, and the absence of comprehensive statistics, poor social, economic and living conditions, poverty and homelessness, threats, problems accessing physical environment, the absence of a comprehensive long-term strategy of the elderly care, the social service inefficiencies, lack of targeted programs and etc.
Unfortunately, the steps taken by the state do not meet the needs of the elderly in the country and their problems are almost unchanged from year to year. To eliminate the existing challenges, the government must actualize the issue and Take concrete steps to fulfill the tasks set out in the concept of state policy on population aging in Georgia, which will allow a more rigorous and full realization of human rights for older people.
According to Minister of Economy, Tkibuli miners received salaris
According to Natia Turnava, the Minister of Economy, Tkibuli miners received their salaries. The Minister spoke about it on Maestro TV.
"I communicate with miners as well as with the investor company. We need to know when the works in mines will begin and what is the prospect of its development in terms of building the same thermal power plant. This issue is a priority and these norms must be respected, "said Turnava.
Around 30 miners were demanding salaries in Mindeli and Dzidziguli mines on September 24th, in Tkibuli. According to the Georgian Trade Unions, they should have been paid until September 15. According to Sakhnakhshiri, the company faced financial problems, which were known to the employees of Tkibuli Mindeli and Dzidziguri mines.
Miners in Tkibuli had the same problems in 2018. Employees then demanded a meeting with Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze to submit to them an official document that they would receive their salaries before the investigation was completed.
Four people were killed in a blast in Tkibuli on July 16, 2018, in Mindeli mine. For this reason, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia sealed 25 mines in Tkibuli. The then prime minister, Mamuka Bakhtadze, said miners would be paid salaries during the closure of the Mindeli mine.
We are looking forward to working together to deepen bilateral relationship- Pompeo to Gakharia
US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, congratulated George Gakharia on the post of PM of Georgia. He also spoke about the importance of deepening US-Georgia relations.
“We are looking forward to working with you in the framework of US-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership to deepen our bilateral relations in areas such as democracy and governance, economic and trade cooperation, defense and security, as well as contact between people and exchange of cultural experiences. The United States confirms its unwavering support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia, which is threatened by Russian aggression,” said Pompeo.
According to the US Secretary of State, the US is committed to the decision of the 2008 NATO Bucharest Summit stating that Georgia will become a member of Alliance.
Former US State Department official, Matthew Bryza described Gakharia’s new post as a “provocative move for demonstrations” following the June 20th events.
The ruling Georgian Dream party in parliament approved the government of Gakharia on September 8th. Opposition and the civil activists of the movement #it’s a shame, who have been demanding the resignation of Gakharia from his previous post as a Minister of Internal Affairs for three months, have been very critical of him becoming the new PM. They are already protesting his promotion.
The United National Movement and European Georgia have boycotted the government’s hearings in the committees and asked questions only in the faction format. The opposition did not take part in voting.
Georgia celebrated International Day of the Elderly on October 1st
The International Day of the Elderly was established in 1990 by UN General Assembly resolution 45/106. About one-fifth of the population of Georgia is over 60 years old, reaffirming the need for state policy on aging.
Protecting and promoting the rights of the elderly is one of the most important areas of activity of the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia. In the Annual Parliamentary report, a separate chapter is devoted to reviewing the legal status of the elderly, reflecting on the results of various cases studied by specialized agencies for the elderly (in Tbilisi and Kutaisi) and community monitoring and apparatus.
In addition to the above, the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia is actively involved in international events to promote best practice and experience in the protection of the rights of the elderly, including working with the UN Open Working Group on Aging to strengthen and promote the protection of the rights of older people. Also, to assess the rights of the elderly, the Public Defender invited the UN independent expert in 2018. As a result of the visit, Report of the Human Rights Council of the UN General Assembly was prepared, where specific recommendations were issued to the authorities to ensure the protection of the human rights of the elderly.
The findings of the Georgian Public Defender's Office on the Status of Older People indicate that challenges in the country are not individual but related to systemic problems. Among the other urgent problems is that along with the State Politics concept about the aging issues in Georgia there is no National Action Plan, the elderly age discrimination, violence, including domestic violence, and the absence of comprehensive statistics, poor social, economic and living conditions, poverty and homelessness, threats, problems accessing physical environment, the absence of a comprehensive long-term strategy of the elderly care, the social service inefficiencies, lack of targeted programs and etc.
Unfortunately, the steps taken by the state do not meet the needs of the elderly in the country and their problems are almost unchanged from year to year. To eliminate the existing challenges, the government must actualize the issue and Take concrete steps to fulfill the tasks set out in the concept of state policy on population aging in Georgia, which will allow a more rigorous and full realization of human rights for older people.
According to Minister of Economy, Tkibuli miners received salaris
According to Natia Turnava, the Minister of Economy, Tkibuli miners received their salaries. The Minister spoke about it on Maestro TV.
"I communicate with miners as well as with the investor company. We need to know when the works in mines will begin and what is the prospect of its development in terms of building the same thermal power plant. This issue is a priority and these norms must be respected, "said Turnava.
Around 30 miners were demanding salaries in Mindeli and Dzidziguli mines on September 24th, in Tkibuli. According to the Georgian Trade Unions, they should have been paid until September 15. According to Sakhnakhshiri, the company faced financial problems, which were known to the employees of Tkibuli Mindeli and Dzidziguri mines.
Miners in Tkibuli had the same problems in 2018. Employees then demanded a meeting with Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze to submit to them an official document that they would receive their salaries before the investigation was completed.
Four people were killed in a blast in Tkibuli on July 16, 2018, in Mindeli mine. For this reason, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia sealed 25 mines in Tkibuli. The then prime minister, Mamuka Bakhtadze, said miners would be paid salaries during the closure of the Mindeli mine.