OSCE Mission to Georgia

The Mission supports the Georgian Government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in developing and implementing an effective framework for anti-trafficking activities. The framework is in line with OSCE anti-trafficking commitments and focuses on protecting the human rights of victims.

A major focus for the Mission is promoting the implementation of the 2005-2006 National Action Plan against Human Trafficking, developed by the Government and NGO representatives in 2004 with OSCE support. The Mission also supported a national referral mechanism assessment that was published in September 2005, and a pilot project in the region of Ajara to strengthen co-operation between the local authorities and NGOs in identifying and referring victims of trafficking.

Supporting anti-trafficking legislation

The Mission, with financial support from Belgium, supported a workshop on improving Georgian legislation on human trafficking as a follow up to the draft law on trafficking in human beings. The participating group of experts from the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, the Ministries of Interior and Justice, the General Prosecutor's Office and the International Organization for Migration, drafted amendments to a number of Georgian laws. Those amendments were presented for adoption to the Georgian Parliament.

Public awareness and capacity-building

As a result of a 2006 open competition conducted by the Mission, eight NGO projects were funded and implemented in Tbilisi and Adjara, Kakheti, Samegrelo, Guria and Mtskheta-Mtianeti. The projects mainly focused on capacity-building and training; supporting individual trafficking-victim cases; prevention and public awareness; and regional and international networking.

Gender equality

The Mission assisted the Government and women's organizations in developing the National Action Plan to Promote Gender Equality to submit to the Government for approval. The Ministerial Cabinet approved the composition of the State Commission on Gender Equality, which aims to monitor the implementation of the National Action Plan after its adoption.