Representatives of the recently established Inter-Agency Commission of Georgia on Gender Equality, Violence against Women and Domestic Violence join hands with the United Nations and Government of Sweden to define policies and measures that will contribute to greater gender equality in Georgia in the coming three years.

As a result of the process, three national action plans will be formed to be approved by the Government of Georgia by the end of 2017: (1) the gender equality and women’s empowerment chapter of the Governmental Action Plan on the Protection of Human Rights; (2) National Action Plan on the Measures to be Implemented for Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and Protection of Victims/Survivors; and (3) National Action Plan on the UN Security Council 1325 Resolution on Women, Peace and Security.  

To assist the Inter-Agency Commission in drafting these three policy documents, the United Nations agencies – United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), organised a series of workshops in September and October 2017.

The latest workshop on October 10-12, 2017, focused on different aspects of gender equality, with the special emphasis on economic empowerment and reproductive health of women, and was attended by representatives of the Georgian government and parliament.

“The expertise and support of the United Nations is paramount to forming thematic national action plans on gender equality in line with the mandate of the Inter-Agency Commission, an institutional mechanism established under the Georgian Government. This support is especially important at the initial stages of the Commission’s work. Participation and inclusiveness of this effort plays is critical for ensuring that representatives civil society and international organizations have an opportunity to be involved,” – said Sopio Japaradize, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Georgia on Human Rights and Gender Equality and Chair of the Inter-Agency Commission.

The workshops will be followed by consultations with civil society and other partners, after which the draft action plans will be presented to the public by the end of November 2017.

Thematic work on these three major documents is supported by the United Nations and Government of Sweden under the UN Joint Programme for Gender Equality in Georgia.