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'There Is no Way to Peace; Peace Is the Way' - An Appeal to the Georgian Nation
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R e a c t i o n s
R e s o u r c e s
Non-governmental organization the Human Rights Center, formerly Human Rights Information and Documentation Center (HRIDC) was founded on December 10, 1996 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
The Human Rights Center is dedicated to protection and promotion of human rights, rule of law and peace in Georgia. It is free of any political and religious affiliation.
The Human Rights Center believes that everyone is entitled to exercise her/his civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights freely and without any discrimination as guaranteed by national and international law. We consider that protection and promotion of these rights and respect for rule of law are the key preconditions for building sustainable peace and democracy in Georgia.
Overall Objectives
The HRIDC aims to increase respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and facilitate peacebuilding process in Georgia. To achieve this goal it is essential to ensure that authorities respect the rule of law and principles of transparency and separation of powers, to eliminate discrimination at all levels, increase awareness and respect for human rights among the people in Georgia.
HRIDC Priority Areas
Strengthening the rule of law by:
• Supporting harmonization of national legislation with international human rights standards and monitoring their implementation;
• Raising public awareness about their rights and available legal remedies/mechanisms for their realisation;
• Providing free legal aid to individuals and groups to defend their rights and freedoms at national and regional/international levels;
• Monitoring, documenting and reporting on human rights violations.
Supporting Freedom of Expression and Media by:
• Supporting development of independent media;
• Promoting creation of environment conducive of free expression;
• Capacity building of journalists and media representatives;
• Promotion and development of new media.
Promoting Equality and Social Inclusion by:
• Fighting against discrimination;
• Protecting the rights of minorities and other vulnerable groups;
• Promoting gender equality and women empowerment.
Supporting Transitional Justice by:
• Documenting and reporting human rights violations committed in relation with armed conflicts;
• Promoting accountability for human rights violations;
• Advocating restitution and reparation;
• Confidence building, reconciliation and peace building.
Reinforcement of Democratic processes by:
• Strengthening development of civil society organizations through capacity building and networking;
• Encouraging involvement of social groups in public activities;
• Promoting free and fair elections, good governance and transparency.
• Monitoring and Documenting human rights violations in Georgia.
• Reporting on human rights situation in Georgia to the EU, Council of Europe, OSCE, UN, ICC and others international bodies on regular basis.
• Lobbying and Advocacy of legislative and policy reforms before national and international institutions.
• Litigating cases on human rights violations through Legal Aid Centre free of charge.
• Public Awareness Raising on human rights situation in Georgia by daily-updatable bi-lingual online magazine http://www.humanrights.ge/ and video-portal http://www.hridc.tv/
• Networking among human rights organizations on national and regional level.
• South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders
• Human Rights House - Tbilisi
• Sorry Campaign
• Black Sea Region Peace building Platform Initiative(BSPPi)
• An International Practitioner Network for Casualty Recorders
The South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders
The South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders unites 30 human rights NGOs in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The Network seeks to facilitate creation of a safer and enabling environment for human rights defenders in the South Caucasus and to strengthen their voices in the region and internationally.
The Network offers legal, psychological, medical and financial support to human rights defenders at risk; monitors policy, legal and security environment affecting defenders/NGOs and their work as well as human rights and freedoms in general and provides a regional platform for joint lobbying before national and international institutions.
http://www.caucasusnetwork.org/
A Sorry campaign: Apology Instead of Bullets
Sorry campaign was initiated in March 2007.
The aim of the Sorry Campaign is to change the dynamics and direction of the relationships that have been established between Georgians and Abkhazians during recent years. The Sorry Campaign is not in any way connected with politics; it is a movement that is against war, as we consider that there is no alternative to peaceful dialogue and mutual settlement of the conflict.
The Campaign envisages the reestablishment of confidence between Georgian and Abkhazian people and to break through the informational vacuum. We want to encourage people to think about the horrors of war and the mistakes we have made.
Make Tomorrow Today! http://www.apsni.org/
Human Rights House
The Human Rights House Tbilisi was formally accepted by the Human Rights House Network in October 2009 by the international Advisory Board of the Network.
By being the member of such a global network, Georgian civil society organizations will be in a position to advocate and lobby with greater degree of impact as well as to exchange knowledge, skills and experience with fellow NGOs from other countries.
The House in Tbilisi will serve as a contribution to enhance the respect for human rights in Georgia, support the work of the human rights defenders in the country and be a focal point of human rights organisations in Georgia and the region.
www.humanrightshouse.org/georgia
Black Sea Peacebuilding Platform Initiative
The initiative to build a Black Sea Peacebuilding Platform was created in November 2008 during the Black Sea NGO Forum that took place in Bucharest. Its development since then has been driven by professional civil society organisations specialising in peacebuilding, conflict resolution and violence prevention from the Black Sea Region.
Purpose of the Black Sea Peacebuilding Platform
To provide an inclusive, transparent, democratically governed and regionally-based civil society platform for improved collaboration, cooperation and sharing of expertise, lessons learned and best practices to strengthen effective capacities for conflict transformation, violence prevention and peacebuilding locally, nationally and regionally in the Black Sea Region.
An International Practitioner Network for Casualty Recorders
In 2009, Oxford Research Group(UK) together with the twenty founding members launched a international practitioner network for casualty recorders. There are many locally-based organisations operating in zones of current or recent conflict working to collect, record, and ultimately memorialise the casualties of conflict. However, the predominant feature of their work is that each organisation operates in relative isolation, devising solutions in an ad-hoc manner, being largely unaware of the work that is going on elsewhere.
There has been a clearly expressed need for a platform to allow such organisations to network productively with each other, and address common problems and aspirations. The HRIDC is one of the founders of the network.
HRIDC is member of the following international networks:
• International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) http://www.fidh.org/
• World Organization Against Torture (SOS-Torture OMCT Network); http://www.omct.org/
• Human Rights House Network; http://www.humanrightshouse.org/
• NGO Coalition for International Criminal Court(CICC); http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/
• Human Rights Without Frontiers, Int.; http://www.hrwf.net/
• European Network for Civil Peace Services (EN.CPS); http://www.en-cps.org/
• International Peace Bureau (IPB); http://www.ipb.org/
• UNITED for Intercultural Action – European Network against Nationalism, Racism, Fascism and Support of Migrants and Refugees; http://www.unitedagainstracism.org/
• Child Rights Information Network (CRIN); http://www.crin.org/
HRIDC has been supported by the following organisatons:
The European Commission; The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; The Norwegian Helsinki Committee; National Endowment for Democracy(NED), The USA; Black Sea Trust of the German Marshal Fund of the United States/USAID; Cordaid (The Netherlands); Council of Europe; Norwegian Human Rights Fund; Embassy of Canada; Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation(SDC); OSCE Mission to Georgia; Eurasia Partnership Foundation; Open Society Georgia Foundation; UNICEF; International Economic Relations and Development Co-operation (YDAS-Hellenic Aid) – General Secretariat of the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Greece); Friedrich Ebert Foundation; Open Society Institute (OSI, Budapest); The World Bank; Stichting Vluchteling (The Netherlands); The Swiss Embassy in Georgia; Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands in Georgia; Embassy of Lithuania; Nordic Council of Ministers/Human Rights House Foundation; CICC; Abilis Foundation; Nonviolent Peaceforce; Penal Reform International; Minority Rights Group International; The Swedish Institute; Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief;
HRIDC Tbilisi Office (Headquarters)
3-A, Kazbegi Ave., Entrance 2, 4th Floor, Apt. 22.
Tbilisi, 0160 Georgia
Tel.: (+995 32) 37 69 50
Fax: (+995 32) 45 45 33
Email: hridc@hridc.org
Web: http://www.hridc.org/
Branch Offices:
Batumi (Adjara)
Gurjaani(Kakheti)
Gori(Shida kartli)
Zugdidi(Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti)
Regional Representation in:
Rustavi, Akhaltsikhe, Ozurgeti, Poti, Zestaphoni, Akhalgori.