With the support of the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG), a draft regulation has been developed for municipal councils working on women’s and children’s issues. The document aims to ensure the protection of women’s and children’s rights at the municipal level and to promote equality between men and women.
A working meeting, held on June 16-17 at NALAG’s office, involved representatives from various municipalities, lawyers, and field experts.
During the meeting, participants discussed the content of the regulation’s main articles, including defining the council’s structure, competencies, and decision-making procedures.
As noted by NALAG’s Executive Director, Nino Rukhadze, the active participation of municipal representatives was crucial in the document’s review process.
“The local experiences and practice-based perspectives shared by municipal representatives significantly helped shape the essence of the regulation. The discussions considered the social and legal issues of the regions, ensuring the document’s better alignment with local governance practices,” said Nino Rukhadze, adding that NALAG plans to provide consistent support to the process to ensure the document’s successful implementation and the functional strengthening of councils across the country.
The meeting was attended by: Lela Gotsiridze, Head of the Children’s Rights Protection Department of the Gardabani Municipality Assembly and Jaba Dvalidze, Head of the Social Service; Giorgi Batonisashvili, Head of the Legal Department of the Administrative and Procurement Service of the Gori Municipality Mayor’s Office; Gogi Revia, Head of the Social Protection and Women’s Rights Department of the Zugdidi Municipality Mayor’s Office Social and Healthcare Service, and Nata Papaskiri, Head of the Zugdidi Municipality Assembly Apparatus; Tinatin Nibloshvili, Deputy Chair of the Tbilisi Municipality Assembly, Nino Chimakadze, an employee of the Assembly’s Legal Department, and Nino Burjanadze, the Mayor’s Advisor on Women’s Issues; and from Khashuri Municipality, the meeting was attended by Nino Liparteliani, Chair of the Assembly.
The discussions were moderated by invited and local experts Mako Avaliani, Nino Zurabishvili, and Giorgi Batonisashvili, who ensured the substantive direction of the process during the review of the regulation’s articles related to women’s empowerment and children’s protection.
The final version of the document will be provided to municipalities in the near future. According to the meeting participants, the document, tailored to municipalities, will mark an important milestone in creating and developing a system for protecting women’s and children’s rights and ensuring gender equality.