The Swiss delegation was hosted by First Deputy Minister of Justice, Tamar Tkeshelashvili representing the State Commission on Migration Issues of Georgia.

"The migration management systems in Georgia and Switzerland are practically identical, which is a guarantee of the success of bilateral cooperation," said Tamar Tkeshelashvili during the meeting with Head of the International Cooperation Department of the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration,

Christina Probst-Lopez.

During the bilateral consultations, the parties discussed such issues as: Prevention of illegal migration, asylum issues, project cooperation and other areas provided by the memorandum.

In addition to the Ministry of Justice, representatives of various member state agencies of the State Commission on Migration were involved in the working meeting.

The German delegation is in Tbilisi within the framework of the 2022-2025 program of cooperation between Georgia and Germany, which was signed last year by the Ministers of Justice of Georgia and Germany in Berlin.

First Deputy Minister of Justice, Tamar Tkeshelashvili noted at the meeting that one of the agency's priorities is the penitentiary system in Georgia, which corresponds to the best European and international standards, and in this regard sharing experience between the two countries is very valuable.

Since the beginning of the new wave of reform of the penitentiary system by the Ministry of Justice, Georgia has already had significant tangible results: infrastructure projects, rehabilitation and re-socialisation programs, expansion of employment opportunities for convicts, improvement of the conditions of employees and prisoners, further development of penitentiary health care, strengthening of the IT infrastructure in the penitentiary system, and professional opportunities of employees.

The Ministry of Justice has also developed a new penitentiary strategy and a new penitentiary code, one of the important directions of which is the refinement of approaches to the rehabilitation and re-socialisation of convicts. In addition, a sports management strategy has been developed, which creates a platform for the involvement of convicts in sports activities, which contributes to a healthy lifestyle and reintegration and re-socialisation.

A new and innovative service "Online Clinic" has been introduced in the penitentiary system, which provides quick access to healthcare services for convicts.

The construction of new small-scale penitentiary institutions is planned. In September of this year, a small-scale facility will be opened in Laituri, and construction has begun in St. in Rustavi.

The innovations introduced in Georgia were interesting for the German side - the Public Service Hall in penitentiary institutions, online university and "re-market". Minister of Justice of the Federal Land of North Rhine-Westphalia, Benjamin Limbach, noted that the reforms implemented by Georgia in the penitentiary system in recent years were clearly visible during the visit to the penitentiary institutions, and Georgia's aspiration to share the best European experience is welcome.

Minister of Justice, Rati Bregadze visited today the Mukhatgadze Brothers Cemetery together with the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Gharibashvili and members of the Cabinet of Ministers. The head of the government and the ministers laid a wreath at the Heroes' Memorial as a sign of respect to the memory of those who died in the August 2008 war.

15 years have passed since Russia's military intervention in Georgia. The Ministry of Justice of Georgia, within its competence, protects the legal security of Georgia in international courts and prepares the legal basis for the further de-occupation of the country.

in particular,

In the Strasbourg court, the interstate dispute against Russia on the August war case was won;

The Russian Federation is obliged to pay up to 130 million euros for the benefit of up to 24,000 Georgian citizens who suffered during the war;

All (up to 3,300) cases related to the August war against Georgia, which were filed by the residents of Tskhinvali region with the coordination of Russia, have been won.

Proceedings against Russia in the case of continued occupation are in an active phase;

The investigation of the Russia-Georgia war case has been completed at the Hague Court; Arrest warrants have been issued for three persons who committed crimes against the population of Georgia.

The State Fund for Protection and Assistance of (statutory) Victims of Human Trafficking held a training today for the employees of shelters and crisis centers, and 28 representatives of the Agency took part in it.

Within the framework of the training, attention was focused on the forms of exploitation characteristic of minors' trafficking, the stages of psychological development of children, the technique of establishing contact with minor victims and the issue of children living and/or working on the street.

Raising the qualifications of relevant specialists on these issues is one of the priority directions of the 2023-2024 action plan for combating trafficking. Its purpose is to improve protection and assistance services for victims of human trafficking and to introduce effective mechanisms for their rehabilitation.

The training was organized by the Interagency Coordinating Council implementing measures against human trafficking, with the financial support of the European Union and in cooperation with the International Center for the Development of Migration Policy.

The training was held within the framework of the project - "Strengthening the impact of migration on development in Georgia" (STREAMinG) - which is implemented by the International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) with the financing of the European Union and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

The fight against trafficking is a priority direction of the Georgian government, which is also an important part of the process of Georgia's integration into the European Union and creates a safe and reliable environment in the country and the region in terms of fighting transnational organised crime.

According to the 2023 report of the US State Department, Georgia is still at the highest level in terms of anti-trafficking measures, according to which Georgia fully meets the anti-trafficking standards; and continues strong, sustainable, consistent and coordinated anti-trafficking measures, leading to the country's top rating.

The positive assessment of the anti-trafficking measures taken by Georgia is the result of the effective work of the Interagency Coordinating Council implementing measures against human trafficking under the leadership of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia and its member state agencies.

Coordinated state anti-trafficking policies are aimed at crime prevention, victim protection, proactive investigation and effective prosecution, and strengthening of cooperation measures.

The Human Rights Committee of the United Nations has announced the selection competition for the candidate to be submitted from Georgia, which will be held in accordance with the rules of the competition approved by the order of the Minister of Justice of Georgia No. 921 of July 11, 2023.

Interested parties should submit their applications by August 15, 2023. Detailed information about the competition is available at the following address: https://hr.gov.ge/JobProvider/UserOrgVaks/Details/80232?active=1

As a result of the competition, the candidate nominated from Georgia will participate in the elections of the UN Human Rights Committee, which will be held in 2024.

The Human Rights Committee is responsible for strengthening the protection of human rights within the framework of the United Nations and for monitoring the effective fulfilment of obligations stipulated by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by the contracting states.