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GEORGIA: Children’s Rights in the concluding observations on the combined fourth and fifth periodic reports by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
Summary: This report extracts mentions of children's rights issues in the reports of all UN Treaty Bodies and their follow-up procedures. This does not include the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child which are available here: http://www.crin.org/resources/treaties/index.asp
Please note that the language may have been edited in places for the purpose of clarity.
- UN Human Rights Committee
- UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- UN Committee against Torture
- UN Committee on Migrant Workers
- UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance
CCPR/C/GEO/CO/3
Concluding Observations issued: 15 November 2007
Issues raised:
Minority groups: The Committee remains concerned at the obstacles faced by minorities in the enjoyment of their cultural rights, as well as at the low level of political representation of minorities. While acknowledging that there is no prohibition of the use of minority languages in the private sphere, and minority languages are taught in schools, the Committee is concerned that lack of knowledge of the Georgian language could lead to marginalization and underrepresentation of minorities in different public and private spheres (arts. 25 and 26).
The State party should:
a) Consider the possibility of allowing minorities to use their own language at the level of local government and administration;
b) Take all appropriate measures to ensure adequate political representation and participation of minorities, in particular Armenian and Azeri communities, as well as to improve their knowledge of the Georgian language. The State party should take steps to eliminate language-based discriminatory practices;
c) promote the integration of minorities in the Georgian society. To this purpose, the State party should engage in a dialogue with the concerned groups and civil society working with minorities issues; (Paragraph 17)
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UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
E/C.12/1/Add.83
Last reported: 14 / 15 November 2002
Concluding Observations issued: 19 December 2002
Issues raised:
Street children: The Committee is concerned about the high number of children living and/or working in the streets who are often victims of various forms of exploitation, including prostitution and pornography. (Paragraph 20).
The Committee calls upon the State party to undertake urgent and effective measures to address the problems faced by children living and/or working in the street, and to protect them against all forms of exploitation. (Paragraph 38)
Education: The Committee regrets the lack of detailed information on the situation of primary education in the information provided by the State party. The Committee is concerned that, although primary education should be provided free of charge, as stipulated by law and in article 14 of the Covenant, parents are faced with payments for various purposes. (Paragraph 26).
The Committee recommends that the State party undertake measures to ensure that access to free primary education is not impeded in reality by additional material costs and by informal fees. In addition, the Committee suggests that the State party continue its reform of the school system, which aims, inter alia, to reduce the number of dropouts. (Paragraph 45)
The Committee is further concerned about the high rate of school drop-outs, particularly in secondary education. (Paragraph 27).
The Committee requests that the State party include, in its next periodic report, detailed information on the quality of higher education. (Paragraph 46)
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UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
CERD/C/GEO/CO/6-8
Concluding observations published: 13 May 2016
National or ethnic minorities: The Committee expresses concern at the limited educational and employment opportunities for youth, including girls, in remote areas where national or ethnic minorities live, such as Pankisi Valley, leaving them vulnerable to radicalization and recruitment by terrorist groups; The committee recommends that the State party adopt a comprehensive approach to eliminate language barriers faced by national or ethnic minorities, including by ensuring that there is a sufficient number of qualified bilingual teachers at all levels of education (paras 12, 13).
Roma: While noting the efforts made by the State party to register individuals of Roma origin and to increase the school enrolment of Roma children, the Committee remains concerned that many of them do not possess identity documents and that the enrolment of Roma children remains low, particularly beyond the primary school level. It is also concerned about: Roma children who live and work on the streets, and the absence of strategic measures to address the situation instances of child and/or forced marriages among the Roma community (para 14).
The Committee recommends that the State party: take comprehensive measures to ensure that Roma children enrol and stay in schools at all levels of education and adopt concrete and time-bound measures to protect children living and working on the streets and ensure their rehabilitation and social integration; Ensure that the prohibition of child and/or forced marriage is effectively implemented in practice, including through awareness-raising campaigns among the Roma community concerning the harmful impact of child and/or forced marriage, and provide victims with appropriate rehabilitation and counselling services (para 15).
Stateless persons: The Committee remains concerned that, despite the measures taken by the State party, stateless persons continue to face obstacles in obtaining citizenship, including children born in the State party who would otherwise be stateless. The Committee recommends that the State party take effective measures to reduce the risk of statelessness and ensure that all stateless persons, including children born in the State party who would otherwise be stateless, are granted nationality without undue administrative obstacles (paras 22, 23).
Ratification of other instruments: The Committee encourages the State party to consider ratifying those international human rights instruments that it has not yet ratified, in particular and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure (para 24).
(CERD/C/GEO/4-5)
Last reported: 16 / 17 August 2011
Concluding Observations: 2 September 2011
Issues raised:
Stereotyping and education: The Committee is concerned at reports of stereotyping, prejudice and misconceptions with regard to members of ethnic and religious minorities expressed through the media, by politicians and in school textbooks. It is also concerned at reports that after the 2008 armed conflict members of some minorities have been depicted as "enemies". (art. 5).
The Committee recommends that, in addition to legal and policy levels, the State party make every effort to build mutual confidence and reconciliation between the majority and minority populations and promote a peaceful and tolerant coexistence in inter-ethnic relations through political discourse, awareness-raising campaigns and by removing derogatory or insulting references to minorities in school textbooks. The Committee also recommends that the State party ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime which it has signed as well as its Additional Protocol. (Paragraph 14)
Education and minority groups: While noting the efforts deployed in this field, including some special measures, the Committee is concerned by the low level of knowledge of Georgian as a second language among minorities and the obstacle which this represents to their integration into society, education, employment, and representation in state institutions and public administration. It is also concerned at the insufficient number of trained teachers of the Georgian language. (art. 5).
The Committee recommends that the level of knowledge of Georgian by minorities be further enhanced through the teaching of Georgian as a second language in educational institutions at all levels and that efforts be made to ensure greater political representation and participation of members of minority groups in public life, especially the Azeri and Armenian communities. The Committee invites the State party to engage in dialogue with these groups and civil society to facilitate their integration and to enhance the quality of training of teachers of the Georgian language at all levels as well as bilingual education in minority areas, increasing the number of Language Houses and improving the curriculum of the Zurab Zhvania school of civic administration for minorities. The Committee also recommends that the State party ratify the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. (Paragraph 15)
Minority groups: The Committee is concerned that the Roma population of Georgia remains marginalized, continues to live in precarious economic and social conditions, has low representation in public life and that many of them do not possess identity documents. The Committee is also concerned at the low rate of enrolment of Roma children in schools and at reports that children, most of whom are of Roma origin, are living in the streets of Tbilisi. (art. 5)
In light of its general recommendation 27 (2000) on discrimination against Roma, the Committee recommends that the State party:
(a) Ensure the issuance of birth certificates and other documents to all members of the Roma minority;
(b) Enhance its efforts to improve the employment, social services, health and housing conditions of the Roma, alleviate their state of marginalization and poverty and ensure their greater representation in public life;
(c) Make every effort to increase the rate of school enrolment of Roma children and take effective measures to protect Roma children living and working in the streets, including by ensuring shelters and providing them with recovery and social reintegration services. (Paragraph 17)
Birth registration: [......] The Committee is also concerned that a large number of children, in particular from minority groups in remote parts of the country, have not been registered at birth and do not have birth certificates. (art. 5).
The Committee recommends that after the 2012 census, the State party provide it with disaggregated information on the composition of society, including on persons belonging to numerically smaller minorities, the inhabitants of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara as well as IDPs and refugees, as well as information regarding their access to health and in particular on infant and maternal mortality among minorities, their level of income, their representation in important State jobs and disparities with regard to education. The Committee recommends that the State party take all the necessary measures to register the births of children, in particular those from minorities, born in remote parts of the country and provide them with birth certificates. (Paragraph 19)
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UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
CEDAW/C/GEO/CO/4-5
Adopted by the Committee: 30 June-18 July 2014
Published: 18 July 2014
Issues raised:
Development of Policies (for children): The Committee welcomes the State party’s efforts to improve its policy framework aimed at accelerating the elimination of discrimination against women and promoting gender equality, such as the adoption or establishment of:
The Strategy of Health Prosecution System, 2014-2020, aimed at promoting mothers’ and children’s health; (para. 5).
Ratification: The Committee welcomes the State party’s accession to the following international instruments:
The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, in 2010;
The 2000 Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, and against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, all in 2006. (para.6)
Harmful Practices: The Committee is concerned about the continued practice of child marriages among certain ethnic groups and the lack of research on the scale, causes and consequences of this phenomenon (para.18).
The Committee also recommends that the State party study the scale and consequences of child marriages and take urgent measures to prevent child marriages of girls among all ethnic groups by undertaking comprehensive information and awareness raising measures targeting the public, parents, religious and traditional leaders about the harmful impact of this practice on girls, in particular on their health and development potential (para.19).
Under the Civil Code, the marriage of a person below the age of 18 is void. However, the committee is concerned that Article 1108 of the civil Code allows for the marriage of a person at the age of 16 in exceptional circumstances with the consent of the parents or other statutory representatives or by a court decision if there are legitimate reasons. This provides room for forced child marriages. There is also an ongoing practice of unregistered marriages, including by the Orthodox Church which may lead to impunity for sexual intercourse with a person below the age of 16 years (para.36).
(CEDAW/C/GEO/2-3)
Last reported: 15 August 2006
Concluding Observations issued: 25 August 2006
Issues raised:
Stereotyping and education: While noting the efforts of the State party to eliminate gender stereotypes from school textbooks at the primary school level, the Committee continues to be concerned about the persistence of patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and in society in Georgia, which are reflected in women's educational choices, their situation in the labour market and their low level of participation in political and public life. It is concerned that girls and women in secondary schools and universities continue to choose study areas traditionally seen as "female areas".
The Committee encourages the State party to continue its efforts to eliminate gender stereotyping, and to strengthen the mainstreaming of gender perspectives in curricula and textbooks. It also requests the State party to enhance the training of teaching staff in regard to gender equality issues. The Committee urges the State party to disseminate information on the Convention in programmes in the educational system, including human rights education and gender training, with a view to changing existing stereotypical views on and attitudes towards women's and men's roles. It recommends that awareness-raising campaigns be addressed to both women and men and that the media be encouraged to project positive images of women and of the equal status and responsibilities of women and men in the private and public spheres. The Committee calls on the State party to further encourage diversification of the educational choices of boys and girls. It also urges the State party to encourage a public dialogue on the educational choices girls and women make and their subsequent opportunities and chances in the labour market. (Paragraphs 17 and 18)
Trafficking: While noting the legislative and other measures taken to combat human trafficking, including the Law on Combating Human Trafficking and the National Action Plan against Human Trafficking, the Committee remains concerned about the persistence of trafficking in women and girls in Georgia.
The Committee calls upon the State party to ensure that legislation on trafficking is fully enforced and that the national action plan and other measures to combat human trafficking are fully implemented. The Committee urges the State party to consider ratifying the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, which it signed in 2000. The Committee urges the State party to collect and analyse data from the police and international sources, prosecute and punish traffickers, and ensure the protection of the human rights of trafficked women and girls. It also recommends that the State party address the root cause of trafficking by increasing its efforts to improve the economic situation of women, thereby eliminating their vulnerability to exploitation and traffickers, and take measures for the rehabilitation and social integration of women and girls who are victims of trafficking. (Paragraphs 21 and 22)
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CAT/C/GEO/CO/3
Last reported: 3 / 4 May 2006
Concluding Observations issued: 25 July 2006
No mentions of children's rights
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UN Committee on Migrant Workers
Not yet signed or ratified.
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UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Signed in 2009, but not yet ratified.
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UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance
Not yet signed or ratified.