Minister of Justice, Rati Bregadze and Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Georgia, Kemlin Furli discussed the prospects of expanding future cooperation.

Rati Bregadze hosted Camlin Furley in the "Gagra" meeting room of the Ministry of Justice.

It was noted at the meeting that Georgia is a leading country among the UN member states in reducing the number of stateless persons and the effectiveness of measures taken to prevent statelessness. The conversation focused on the information campaign for the identification and documentation of stateless persons / persons without documents, which is being implemented by the Ministry of Justice's Public Service Development Agency in cooperation with the UNHCR. The aim of the campaign is to eliminate the existence of undocumented citizens in the country. An agreement on cooperation in this direction between the UNHCR and the Public Service Development Agency was also signed today.

The parties also discussed the prospects of expanding future cooperation.

The results of the analysis of the documents and recommendations created in the system of the Ministry of Justice were discussed today at the presentation held at the Training Center of Justice. The event was symbolically held on the Georgian Language Day.

The purpose of the linguistic analysis of the official documents is to promote the proper use of the Georgian language, which is part of the action plan of the unified state language program for 2021-2030. The Training Center of Justice has been involved in the implementation of the strategy since 2021.

The presentation was opened by Deputy Minister of Justice, Tornike Cheishvili. Chair of the State Language Department, Giorgi Alibegashvili and Director of the Training Center of Justice, Khatuna Kasradze addressed the participants.

The tradition of celebrating Georgian Language Day has been introduced in the training center since 2016. April 14 is symbolically marked by a summary of the activities carried out by the training center in terms of protection, development and teaching of the Georgian language. Among them: Georgian language training courses for non-Georgian speaking population held in 2015-2017; the training program "Georgian Language Spelling and Style Issues" launched n 2018; Georgian language proficiency test and Georgian language spelling tests developed in 2016.

Harmonization of Georgian legislation with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; Increasing access to services for the disabled persons in the system of the Ministry of Justice by adapting services and infrastructure; Protecting the rights of persons with disabilities and convicts in a penitentiary institution according to their specific needs - these are the issues to which the document on the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities pays special attention.

The presentation of the action plan was held today. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Minister of Justice, Buba Lomuashvili. The Deputy Minister also briefed the participants on the measures already taken by the Ministry to protect the rights of persons with disabilities and improve access to services.

As it was mentioned at the meeting, from 2021 it is possible to enter the status of a person with disabilities for life on the electronic ID card; Adapted services for the deaf and hard of hearing are introduced; Infrastructure was adapted for people with disabilities; The process of adapting the official websites of the system agencies of the Ministry of Justice has started, etc.

The event was organized by the Analytical Department of the Ministry of Justice and supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The meeting was attended by persons with disabilities, human rights defenders and donor organizations. Some of them participated in the presentation from the regions, remotely.

Within the framework of the ongoing public administration reform in the country, for the first time in Georgia, a unified strategy for the development of public services was created and approved by the government.

As a result of the reform, the provision of public services will become even easier and more accessible to customers.

The goal of the public service development strategy is to introduce new standards for the creation, delivery, quality assurance and evaluation of customer-oriented services.

The agency responsible for developing the standard for simplified delivery of services is the LEPL State Services Development Agency of the Ministry of Justice. This component of the reform is supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The service development strategy was developed with the involvement of the agency and local and international experts. Five guidelines and training modules provided by the strategy have been prepared and, to date, up to 500 representatives of public service providers have been trained.

In addition, the concept of public service quality index (as well as indicators and evaluation matrix) and the methodology for calculating the index were developed. It is also planned to create a service index portal.

After the approval of the strategy by the government, the introduction of unified approaches in practice will increase the quality of public services in Georgia.

The results of the Eleven Years of Diversion and Mediation Program were summarized at a conference organized by the Ministry of Justice and the United Nations Children's Fund. The event participants discussed the achievements and challenges of the project.

Through the diversion and mediation program, up to 5,600 juveniles were prosecuted during this period. Diversion is an alternative form of punishment that allows a juvenile to take responsibility for his or her own actions and continue to live without a conviction if he or she commits a crime for the first time. The program is implemented by the Agency for Crime Prevention, Execution of Non-custodial Sentences and Probation of the Ministry of Justice in cooperation with the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia.

The diversion and mediation project has been operating in the Georgian judiciary for 11 years. It was originally intended for children under the age of 18 and involved less serious crimes. Since 2014, given the impressive results of the program, diversion has also spread to serious crime cases; Since 2015, when the Juvenile Justice Code came into force, enrollment in the diversion program has also become possible for young people aged 18 to 21.

The conference was addressed by Minister of Justice of Georgia, Rati Bregadze, Prosecutor General of Georgia, Irakli Shotadze, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Georgia, Catalin Gherman and UNICEF Representative in Georgia, Ghassan Khalil.

Special attention was paid to the work of the program in the conditions of the pandemic, when the parties involved in the project had to work remotely. Despite these difficulties, the highest successful mediation rate in the diversion programs in 2021 was 65% per annum.

At the end of the conference, awards were presented to professionals involved in the program - successful prosecutors, mediators and social workers.

The event was organized within the framework of the EU project - "Strengthening Systems and Services for Child Protection in Georgia" - and was attended by professionals involved in the implementation of the restorative justice program, representatives of civil society and international organizations.

The convicts in # 8 penitentiary institution planted strawberry seedlings today. This year, one of a variety of strawberries was added to the variety of vegetables and fruits on the plot.

Deputy Minister of Justice, Buba Lomuashvili, First Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Gela Khanishvili, and Director of the Vocational Training and Retraining Centre of Convicts, Tamta Demurishvili attended the spring works on the plot. With the strawberry seedlings donated by Magali Ltd., the convicts are expecting about 1 ton of harvest this year.

The agricultural project has been implemented by the Vocational Training and Retraining Centre of Convicts since 2020. During this period, the convicts deepened their knowledge in the field of agriculture and, in cooperation with the Center for Environmental Information and Education, also underwent respective training courses.

An exhibition-sale of works by employees of the Ministry of Justice has been opened at the National Archives. More than 80 employees of the Ministry's system presented their paintings and handicrafts at the charity event.

Proceeds from the sale of the works will be spent on the beneficiaries of the Juvenile Referral Center. Adolescents in conflict with the law will be given the necessary items and products for Easter on behalf of the employees of the Ministry of Justice.

Participating in a charity event without purchasing a specific item is also possible by donating money. For this purpose, special boxes are placed in the exhibition hall.

The exhibition-sale will host the visitors throughout the week, including weekends, from 11:00 to 19:00.

Rati Bregadze hosted today Alexander Vinnikov in the Gagra Meeting Room of the Ministry of Justice.

The Minister of Justice discussed with the Head of the Liaison Office the ongoing democratic reforms aimed at Georgia's integration into NATO. Talks focused on the legal mechanisms of de-occupation of the country and the importance of the decisions of the Strasbourg and Hague courts in conducting this process.

Rati Bregadze and Alexander Vinnikov also discussed the importance of holding joint events to raise awareness about NATO.

New infrastructure projects, innovative services, land system registration reform - these and other issues were addressed by the Minister of Justice in response to a question about the results of one-year activities of the Ministry live on Imedi TV.

Rati Bregadze thanked the Prime Minister for the trust and noted that it is a great responsibility for him and his team.

The Minister focused on the recently implemented and planned infrastructure projects:

“We opened Gardabani Public Service Hall, a new archive building in Akhaltsikhe; public service halls and community centers were opened in Kaspi, Chkhorotsku, Sighnaghi, Tskaltubo; a new notary bureau in Adjara; New infrastructural projects have started, in particular, the construction of public service halls in Terjola, Zestaponi, Akhmeta. Also, a new location of the public service hall will be opened in Tbilisi soon and the construction in Khashuri branch will be completed."

Rati Bregadze also spoke about the successful cooperation in international direction:

"We have signed cooperation agreements with the Republic of Turkey, Israel, Hungary, Armenia, Azerbaijan and in the near future we will sign cooperation agreements with the Ministry of Justice of Switzerland and the Federal Republic of Germany."

The Minister also spoke about the ongoing and planned projects in the Penitentiary Service and noted that a sports strategy has already been approved, which will allow prisoners to train and become professional athletes. In addition, work has begun on a digital university project that will provide prisoners with the opportunity for higher education through remote learning.

Speaking live on TV, the Minister noted that the Mobile Public Service Hall project was implemented to further increase access to services for the rural population.

"Soon we will have a digital Public Service Hall and through the mobile application you will be able to receive all the services you receive at the Ministry of Justice," - said Rati Bregadze.

The Minister also spoke about the systematic registration of land and noted that the project of systematic registration of land will be completed in 2024.

"There is already a very specific schedule and complete technical equipment, all regions are listed, where and when the systematic registration of land will begin," - said Rati Bregadze. The Minister thanked the staff of the Ministry.