The IDPs situation is still a problem in Georgia, the EU Special Adviser on Legal Constitution Reform and Human Rights in Georgia, Thomas Hammarberg told the program “Let’s meet Europe”.
“I’ve been in Georgia many times, mainly as the commissioner for Human Rights of the council of Europe, and that was also the period during the war in 2008. One problem which is still there to some extent is the situation of IDPs, who in most cases would like to go to their original homes, but cannot for political reasons and the situation is of course a matter for human rights. It’s important that possibilities are offered, different options in order to continue their lives in the most human rights friendly way possible”, Thomas Hammarberg said.
He said that there are minorities in Georgia, ethnic minorities that carry a special culture, special language, religious minorities, Muslims, he mentioned the Meskhetian Turks ousted in Stalin’s period. “Muslims and other religious groups who do not belong to the majority religion of the country, the Orthodox Church, they have the right to also exist in the country and have their desires taken seriously. I think one of the tests for the maturity of the democracy in Georgia and where the human rights really are respected, is whether these minorities will have the possibilities to be heard in society and if they have complaints, these complaints should be listened to carefully, and their rights are violated or not respected, something should be done in order to give them these rights and protect these rights, that’s a real challenge for Georgia”, Hammarberg said.
EU Special Adviser on Legal Constitution Reform and Human Rights in Georgia also spoke about the problems in Justice system. “In my previous capacity, I was commissioner for human rights in the council of Europe. I was in Georgia several times and also reported and I found that there were some problems in the way that the system of Justice worked. Of course the system of justice is absolutely crucial for respecting human rights. If the law enforcement, prosecution and judiciary and the penitentiary, the prisons, if these institutions don’t work, there are problems when it comes to human rights. There are some systemic problems that I noticed in Georgia when it comes to that. Now with a new political situation, it is very important that those systemic problems which were there will be addressed and problems remedied. That’s part of my mission now, to argue for that. There has been some progress in the overcrowding in the penitentiary institutions and it has gone down and there are fewer people in prison now than before, it is positive. I hope that treatment of those in prison will be more positive than before. What we now tell the authorities is that the international procedures should be respected in all cases; there should be no political element in the sense that you punish someone from another political party, that’s not allowed. The system should be impartial”, Hammarberg said. Hammarberg talks about poverty and corruption. He says that poverty means a lack of access to the courts or other institutions and corruption also effects the human rights situation and when you have corruption in the justice system, that’s particularly bad, because it means that people with money can get their will through in the system, while people without money are disadvantaged because of the corrupted situation. It is really bad against human rights.
Hammarberg said that it’s very implant that people know about their rights and the rights of others, promote human rights education. “There should be a clear element of human rights education in the school system, so that young people, pupils will come in contact with the essence of human rights, values respect for others. There is need for not only the school people, but for the public at large to know about their rights. The media has an important role. Unfortunately, they don’t always play that role, but I think we should continue to ask them to do so. Those professions which relate to human rights problems and who are in the forefront when it comes to human rights situations, police, judges, prosecutors, also social workers, health personnel, teachers, who meet so many young people, they should have a strong element of human rights in their professional education”, Thomas Hammarberg says.
EU communication Campaign "Let`s Meet Europe" has been launched in December 2011 and is funded and initiated by European Union Delegation To Georgia. The project will contribute to bring Georgian people closer to Europe and energize the country towards faster recovery, peaceful settlements of past conflicts and a new vision of society and opportunities.
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