There are certain national and international human rights documents that could be important for you.
Georgia
In Georgia, human rights are protected by the Constitution and on the basis of the standards, principles and norms established by international conventions. According to Article 4 of the Constitution: “The legislation of Georgia shall comply with the universally recognised principles and norms of international law. An international treaty of Georgia shall take precedence over domestic normative acts unless it comes into conflict with the Constitution or the Constitutional Agreement of Georgia.”
European & International
There are several important international human rights documents that Georgia has joined and therefore they are binding to it.
Some documents are general and contain a broad human rights catalogue. Those are the following:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is one of the most important documents in the history of human rights. The Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948. Even though the Declaration is not legally binding, it laid a ground for universal standards of human rights worldwide. Georgia became a member of the United Nations in 1992.
The European Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols contain a wide range of civil and political rights. The implementation of this Convention by the member states is supervised by the European Court of Human Rights, which is also accessible to you as an individual.
Read more about your access to the Court.
Like the European Convention, the Covenant contains a broad catalogue of civil and political rights. Unlike the European Convention, this document is binding on many countries around the world. The implementation of this Covenant is supervised by the UN Human Rights Committee, which is also accessible to you as an individual.
Read more about your access to the Committee.
The European Social Charter contains a long list of economic and social rights.
The European Committee of Social Rights supervises the conformity with the Charter in the member states. The Committee does not accept individual complaints, but is open to collective claims by certain type of organizations.
As the title suggests, it contains a broad range of economic, social and cultural rights. This Covenant is also binding on many countries around the world. The implementation of this Covenant is supervised by the UN Committee of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which is also generally accessible to individuals.
- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (read document)
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (read document)
- Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (read document)
- European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (read document)
- Convention on the Rights of the Child (read document)
- Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (read document)
- Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (read document)
- The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) (read document)