Human rights in Georgia (country)
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Since the Rose Revolution, the people's uprising of 2003, human rights in Georgia have drawn closer to acceptable standards. The government has committed to an ambitious reform agenda, but, because these reforms are being carried out speedily, unthoroughly, and without broad and open consultation, many of Georgia's entrenched human rights problems remain unimproved. Governmental actions in the past two years have led to decidedly mixed results.
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[edit] Judicial independence
Amendments to the constitution, adopted in 2004, diminished independence of the judiciary further, by increasing presidential influence over the judiciary. In April 2005, a considerable number of judges found themselves dismissed after a Presidential decree. The High Council of Justice, the body that decides such appointments and dismissals, is now headed by President Saakashavili.
[edit] Rights of religious minorities
The government have taken positive steps towards protecting religious minorities. Attacks against those of different faiths have subsided since the revolution, and a leader of these attacks, Vasili Mkalavishvili, was arrested and incarcerated by the authorities. Prime Minister Zurab Jvania was a key supporter of allowing religious organisations recognition from the state, but he faced considerable opposition from his own government: his own president said that the state should do what it can to 'protect Georgia from harmful alien influence.' Despite reforms allowing minority churches to register themselves in 2005, the Georgian Orthodox church has a considerable monopoly in Georgia, whilst minority groups find it hard to even build places of worship. The 2002 concordat between the G.O.C. and the Georgian government, is still in place. which grantes the Georgian Orthodox Church a privileged status Georgia, and endows it with authority over all religious matters. It is the only church that has tax-free status, and it is often consulted in government matters. Together with being free of tax,Georgian orthodox church also gets some financing from the government as well. The main reason for this is that the church has always been very active in country's cultural development and just like in most eastern orthodox countries, the line between culture and religion is blurred.
[edit] Torture
Torture is still a problem within Georgia. However, the government after the Rose Revolution made a tremendous success in this matter. There have been numerous reforms from which one of the most important ones was the police reform. Old, corrupt roadside police that many people considered to be the remains of the soviet era were converted to a modern "Patrol". Statistics show that people's trust in police skyrocketed after the reform. Even though there have been several accusations of torturing the suspects, overall number of complaints has dropped significantly.
[edit] Freedom of expression and of the media
The government has improved protection of freedom of expression, by such measures as decriminalising libel.There has been a big improvement in this matter, especially after the Rose Revolution. Although there have been several accusations of government pressure on television, the media is mostly free.
[edit] Status of refugees
Refugees do not have satisfactory housing, medical care, or job opportunities in Georgia, especially the ones from the Chechen War. The biggest problem in this matter is that Georgia already had nearly 300,000 refugees from the wars with separatist regions in 1990, which made things for the government even harder. In recent years, there have been numerous legislations passed in order to protect the refugees and give them financial and medical help. As of 2008, Georgian government reported that millions of dollars of aid would be allocated from the state resources for improvement of living conditions for the refugees and other people in need.
[edit] See also
- HumanRights.ge – daily updated online magazine and web portal on human rights in Georgia
- Sandro Girgvliani Murder Case
- Have the rights of religious minorities improved?
- US State department's International religious freedom report, 2005.
- HRW Human Rights overview
- Human Rights Watch, Georgia
- Censorship in Georgia - IFEX
- IDP Voices - Read and listen to life stories from displaced people in Georgia.
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