Georgian Civil Servants and Social Partners Raise Awareness on Business and Human Rights Issues

A series of webinars on Business and Human Rights kicked off on 25 May 2021 in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia. During the four weeks, the 8 webinars provided by the International Training Centre of the ILO will focus on International Labour Standards, Occupational Safety and Health, Forced Labour, Grievance Mechanisms at the Workplace, Child Labour, Equal Opportunity and Treatment of Workers, Women Economic Empowerment Principles, Sexual Harassment, and Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining.

Following the successful implementation of the first series of webinars held in the beginning of this year, the ILO and the Human Rights Secretariat agreed to launch the second series of webinars, to be delivered from 25 May to 17 June 2021.

Each session subject is discussed in light of relevant ILO standards and the national policy and legal frameworks. The webinars brought together international presenters from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and national expertise from UN agencies, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, the Labour Inspection Office, the Public Defender’s Office, the Georgian Employers Association and the Georgian Trade Unions Confederation.

“Whereas national legislation is dynamic, sometimes incomplete and often subject to interpretation, international labour standards provide a solid basis for stability. Knowledge and use of international labour standards is important for conflict resolution and ensuring social balance. ILO, through our project, will continue to provide support for promoting Business and Human Rights and responsible business conduct in Georgia” said Mr. Catalin Tacu, Chief Technical Adviser of the ILO-Danida Project “Inclusive Labour Market for Job Creation in Georgia”.

“Administration of the Government of Georgia is currently working on the development of the National Action Plan (NAP) on Human Rights, which will be the second NAP on Human Rights for Georgia. It aims to strengthen the Human Rights standards in Georgia for the next 10 years. Business and Human Rights will be a chapter of the NAP. This may be a new concept for our society but this chapter affirms the political readiness of the Government to support Business and Human Rights development in Georgia “said Ms. Maka Peradze, Head of Human Rights Secretariat of Georgia.

The webinar series on Business and Human Rights is supported by the ILO-Danida Project “Inclusive Labour Market for Job Creation in Georgia”. The project is implemented with the financial support of the Government of Denmark.