The European Union and Georgia held the ninth round of their annual Human Rights Dialogue in Brussels on 20 April 2016.
 
The European Union and Georgia welcomed the continued progress on Human Rights in Georgia, also acknowledged by the positive recommendation on Visa Liberalisation by the European Commission in December 2015. Both sides agreed on the importance of a free and pluralistic media environment, and political pluralism as a prerequisite for the conduct of democratic elections.
 
The European Union welcomed the changes to the electoral systems aimed at ensuring equality of suffrage, and encouraged Georgia to continue efforts to further increase participation of women and national minority representatives in politics.
 
The EU welcomed the progress achieved in the field of civic integration, and encouraged effective implementation of the Civic Equality and integration state strategy. The European Union encouraged Georgia to continue effective implementation of its anti-discrimination law and stressed its commitment to the universality of human rights for all, regardless of religion or belief, race, sex, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability or other.
 
The EU commended Georgia for its initiative to further strengthen the institutional mechanism on gender equality at the executive level and encouraged the country to proceed with the ratification of the Istanbul convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. The European Union welcomed the adoption of the Juvenile Justice Code and the law on early and preschool education as good progress to address children rights, as well as the efforts of the Georgian Government to prevent trafficking among minors. The EU also welcomed revival of tripartite social dialogue and encouraged Georgia to adopt amendments to its labour code in line with ILO standards and to continue efforts to ensure enforcement of all labour rights. The EU positively noted the ongoing justice sector reforms with a view of building an institutional democracy in Georgia.
 
Both sides agreed on Georgia's good progress in combatting torture and ill-treatment, in particular noting improvement in prison conditions and the treatment of prisoners. The EU welcomed that the Independent National Prevention Mechanism under the Public Defender's Office enjoys full access for monitoring closed facilities. The EU and Georgia agreed on the need for Georgia to continue working on establishing an independent and impartial investigative mechanism for the efficient investigation and prosecution of certain crimes against human rights and freedoms committed by representatives of law enforcement agencies.
 
The EU commended Georgia's commitment to settle the cases lodged with the European Court of Human Rights (the ECHR), with a purpose of providing prompt redress to the victims of human rights violations at the national level and reducing its caseload. The EU welcomed the introduction of the legislative package on granting financial compensation to the victims.
 
The EU reaffirmed its support to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognised borders. Both sides discussed concerns over the human rights situation in Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia. The EU and Georgia welcomed the simultaneous release of detainees from Tbilisi, Sukhumi and Tskhinvali as a significant humanitarian act.
 
The dialogue allowed for an open, constructive exchange on the human rights situation in Georgia, on the country's commitment to achieving sustainable progress in this area and on the EU's commitments and policy framework for the promotion of Democracy and Human Rights. It is also an integral part of monitoring of the implementation of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement. In line with its policy of consulting civil society ahead of its meetings on human rights, the EU met with representatives of Georgian and international NGOs prior to the dialogue as well as with representatives of international and regional organisations present in
Georgia.
 
The EU delegation was led by Ms Elisabeth Tison, Head of the Human Rights Strategy and Policy Implementation Division in the European External Action Service, while the Georgian delegation was headed by Mr Gigi Gigiadze, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. The dialogue was planned to coincide with the Justice, Freedom and Security Subcommittee , to be held on 21 April. The next Human Rights Dialogue between the EU and Georgia is scheduled to take place in Tbilisi in 2017.