UN Human Rights Rapporteur to Visit Georgia

TBILISI – UN human rights expert Dubravka Simonovic will visit Georgia this week upon an official invitation from the Georgian government.

She will assess the situation of violence against women and collect first-hand information from victims.

Simonovic recently said violence against women continues to be one of the world’s most pervasive human rights violations, affecting every woman worldwide, and stressed that all states have a responsibility to take effective action to eliminate gender-based violence.

During her five-day visit, Simonovic will meet with government authorities, civil society representatives among others in Tbilisi and Georgia’s eastern regions.

She will also visit a shelter for victims of domestic violence, a camp for internally displaced persons and meet with individual victims of gender-based violence and minority women.

“I hope that as a result of my interactions with government and civil society representatives, I will contribute to the current discussions and efforts in the fight against gender violence in the country,“ said Simonovic.

Simonovic will later present a report with her findings and recommendations during a session of the Human Rights Council in June.

The Special Rapporteurs are part of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. 

By ZVIAD ADZINBAIA

Edited by NICHOLAS WALLER 

Photo credit: africacheck.org