OPCAT and Georgian Civil Society

2006-08-09 20:00

Georgian civil society has called on the state authorities to be included in the process of implementing OPCAT in the country. On 18 July 16 different Georgian NGOs gathered at a round-table meeting in Tbilisi to discuss their involvement in this process.

The meeting, which was co-sponsored by Penal Reform International’s Tbilisi Regional Office and the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, resulted in a declaration, in which Georgian civil society urged the Georgian authorities to work closely with them to discuss the establishment of a national detention monitoring mechanism as well as to nominate suitable candidates to the international Subcommittee on Prevention.

The APT also attended this event in order to give a presentation on the possible models and practices which Georgia might learn from other countries. The visit was the second by the APT to Tbilisi in 2006 to assist the OPCAT implementation process. It is envisaged that a follow-up meeting will take place in Tbilisi in September 2006, which the APT will attend.