The Rights of Children’s Rights’ Defenders has been violated

In April, after the reorganization in Kutaisi self-governance, 300 employees lost their jobs. Among them are 12 employers of children’s rights’ defender’s department.

During two years, they have lost their jobs second time. First time, the department was liquidated in 2005. And the chairwoman of the defenders, who has 36 year experience in this field, had to struggle for her and her employees’ rights for a long time. After the rehabilitation of the department, this year, they have lost their working places second time.

Rights’ defenders decided not to appeal to court and they asked for help to the representatives of the local government. And besides this, the representatives of the civil and educational organizations appealed with the recommendation letter to local government and municipality for the rehabilitation of the department, but without any results.

“On 29 November 2006 we received the warning letter about the liquidation. But it must be mentioned, that in fact the office was not liquidated. Our 12 member group had to begin work with the group of education department. We agreed that from the January 1, I would be the deputy of the chairwoman of education department Makvala Kobuladze. Our 12 member group would be moved to that department without changing any functions and responsibilities. But later, department was staffed by 16 members, they received new people and our professionals were fired. After the struggle, from the first of February, I was appointed as a deputy of education department for 3 month trial period,” declares former chairwoman of children’s rights’ defender’s department of the local self-governance, Maguli Giorgadze.

On 20 April, Maguli Giorgadze was fired from the post. Mentioned office was located in Kutaisi, Queen Tamar Street in two rooms of the old building. Because of the lack of computers, employees had conducted censuses by pen and paper. But this fact had not hindered them to gather all information about each juvenile. It must be underlined, that they know the problems of Kutaisi juveniles better then other organizations.

“I think, that nobody is interested with the problems of those juveniles. We have some cases in the court, and because of liquidation, the rights’ of our beneficiaries are not protected. Nobody is responsible for our cases. And today, when the criminal situation among juveniles is growing, this fact is more deplorable,” says Maguli Giorgadze.

According to her, the reason of the liquidation is the private ambitions of the current chairwoman of the culture, sport, sculpture defense, youth and education department of Kutaisi municipality Makvala Kobuladze and declares: “I grieve for our hard work. We have been building this department during several years and now, it is liquidated because of private ambitions. She is not professional and she was sure, that if we work together she would appear under my shadow. She could not fit to that sense and declared that she could not be able to work with me. That’s why they relieved me from my post after three months. I have seen her only few times during that period. She was ignoring me. And finally I stayed without job, but whole department was created for her.”

What about children’s and juveniles’ rights’ department, this kind of department works with 15 member board in Tbilisi. But in Kutaisi high qualified specialists and their job have been appeared without any successor.

To find out who will continue the working of this organization, Human Rights Centre visited Makvala Kobuladze, who refused to make any comment on this issue, but informally declared that the department of Maguli Giorgadze was liquidated according to the realized reorganization in municipality. The new department of education has different regulation, where nothing is written about those functions, which have been implemented by the department of children’s and juveniles’ rights, says Giorgadze. To confirm it, she has shown us the regulation of her department, where we have found contrary arguments of her words. In the second article of the first enclosure of the regulation number 63, are listed activities, which must be implemented by the mentioned department. And part of those responsibilities coincides with the basic issues of the children’s and juveniles’ rights’ department: “protecting of juveniles’ interests; getting measures to ensure receiving of education in case of exclusion from the school, protection of juveniles from the inviolability of their home; protection them from the violation of the reputation and dignity and etc.”

Future will show us, if the department of children’s and juveniles’ rights would be restored in the third time. Maguli Giorgadze still continues working and still attends the trials of the beneficiaries without any status. She hopes, that some day the representatives of the local government will guess the necessity of her department.

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi