The USAID Rule of Law Program hosted the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre  (EHRAC) in Tbilisi after a three-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A long-time partner of USAID’s rule of law programs implemented by the East-West Management Institute in Georgia, EHRAC works to build the capacity of Georgia’s human rights organizations and their lawyers to conduct effective strategic litigation before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and other international mechanisms.

The USAID Rule of Law Program supports civil society organizations through strategic litigation grants in substantive areas such as freedom of expression, freedom against discrimination, and the rights of women, children, and persons with disabilities, with a special emphasis on supporting marginalized groups and minorities. EHRAC’s mentoring and engagement are part of this support. EHRAC has advised Georgian human rights organizations on numerous cases and has lent its expertise and experience to 15 cases litigated at the ECtHR and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This has proven critical to the success of nine strategic cases from Georgia, ensuring that the Georgian state and its courts improve their approaches and legislation for the benefit of all Georgians.

On June 21, EHRAC Co-Directors Jessica Gavron and Laure Trebosc, as well as Senior Legal Consultant Kate Levine and lawyer Tobi Collis, held two roundtable discussions with partner CSOs. The first roundtable concerned the increasingly shrinking space for civil society activism, including the recently proposed “Foreign Agents Law,” and surveillance of NGOs, journalists, and religious organizations. The second roundtable was oriented on preventing and combating sexual harassment of women and girls, where and how sexual harassment is manifested, and the challenges around access to justice for survivors, as well as the lawyers representing the victims. 

The EHRAC team also held individual meetings with partner CSO representatives. The purpose of both the meetings and the roundtables was to create space for CSOs to share their concerns, experiences, and challenges on these issues and for EHRAC to share their litigation experience, provide advice, and identify potential new strategic cases for international litigation.

“It was fantastic to meet our valued partners and colleagues in person in Tbilisi. It was disturbing to learn more about the repressive tendencies of the authorities in Georgia and to hear the legitimate fears of an increasingly targeted civil society. As always, we are keen to support our partners in the face of these challenges and together strategize the most effective means of challenging repression, persecution and discrimination through international litigation and advocacy” – said Jessica Gavron.

Through this partnership, EHRAC has advised the CSOs on numerous cases, resulting in substantive work on 15 cases, of which 12 were litigated at the ECtHR and 3 brought before CEDAW.

The Rule of Law Program continues its support for civil society organizations through grants competitions and other technical and mentoring assistance to ensure that the highest standards of human rights protection are afforded to all Georgians.