Total budget: USD 551,500
Duration: Two years

Background:

At the request of the Public Defender of Georgia (PDO), UNDP agreed in autumn 1997 to co-operate in supporting the Public Defender's Office and building the institution's capacity. Since January 1999 the implementation of the capacity building project Assistance to the Public Defender of Georgia GEO/97/003 has been ongoing. The donors to this projects are UNDP, OHCHR, the Dutch, Swedish, Danish and Georgian governments. The project focuses on strengthening the Public Defender's Office capacity in three areas, one of which is Human Rights education and raising public awareness.

The soviet legacy is still prevailing in Georgia, resulting in a low level of awareness of human rights. The general population, as well as civil servants, has only a vague idea about basic human rights and fundamental freedoms. Insufficient public awareness results in victims who are not aware of that their rights are being violated and violators not recognising that they are, in fact, violating human rights. It also presents an obstacle to the development of a democratic society with respect for human rights and rule of law.

The PDO has been established in Georgia since 1998. However, information on the Law on the Public Defender of Georgia as well as on the mandate and activities of the institution is still not available to the general public and human rights instruments have not been sufficiently distributed. The Georgian Government is unable to guarantee the implementation of an informational campaign in the area of human rights on a nation wide scale.

Objectives:

The extended project proposal is designed to support and assist the Public Defender’s Office to develop and implement a comprehensive national human rights education and information dissemination strategy. The public relations unit of the PDO will be entrusted key implementation responsibilities to build the capacity of the unit to fulfil its function.

The primary objective is to increase public awareness on the issue of Humans Rights and the role of the Public Defender's Office in protecting these rights and thus to enhance the Georgian Public Defender’s capacity to operate as a fully functional, independent national institution and Georgia’s capacity to respect the Human Rights of all residents.

Activities:

• Conduct a base line survey to define the level of society awareness of human rights and to define strategic target groups.

• Disseminate information on human rights and the mandate and activities of the PDO to strategic target groups within Georgian society.

• Inform the public about human rights and the PDO media with the help of radio and television.

• Continuously update the public on global and national development.

• Enhance the capacity of the mass media to fulfil their function as guardians of and advocates for human rights.

• Celebrate the human rights week

Expected outputs:

1. The community will be informed about the role and functions of the Public Defender's Office

2. The general public will be informed about international human rights standards and documents, thus a culture of respect for human rights in Georgian society will be disseminated.

3. The knowledge and technical capacity of the public information unit within the PDO will enable it to perform its function of continuously keep the public up to date with human rights issues and the activities of the institution.