The Coalition for
Equality echoes the decision of the Public Defender of Georgia taken on the
case of Goga Razmadze and considers that this decision establishes an improper
practice in cases of labor discrimination, which harms not only the specific
applicant but also worsens the conditions of the rights of all employed
persons.
Goga Razmadze holds
a managerial position in the Department of Human Rights Protection and
Investigation Quality Monitoring at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of
Georgia. He spoke publicly about the discrimination, humiliating and insulting
treatment he was subject to, and the coercion
into giving a formal explanation. Goga Razmadze turned to the Deputy Minister,
Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, but he did not react to his plea. Then he turned to
the Public Defender with a request to establish discriminatory treatment.
From the analysis
of the Young Lawyers Association of Georgian, it can be observed that the
Public Defender:
●
Failed to interview any of the persons
named and referred to as witnesses by Goga Razmadze;
●
Did not take into account the facts, circumstances, and arguments
indicated by Goga Razmadze that made void many explanations provided by the Ministry;
●
Failed to put a considerable part of the
questions raised by the applicant;
●
Relied on the position presented by the
Ministry without asking clarifying questions;
●
Did not take into account the actual
circumstances relating to the coercion that took place in the General
Inspection Department;
●
And finally, within a week, the Public
Defender fully shared the position of the Ministry, even though the Ministry
failed to even present to the Public Defender an answer to additional arguments
of the applicant;
●
It is not known whether the last position
of the applicant was submitted or not to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Thus, the decision of the
Public Defender in the case of Goga Razmadze is not based on a full-scale
examination of the circumstances, and it is ungrounded and biased in favor of
the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Without interviewing witnesses, putting
questions to the Ministry, and requesting documents, the Public Defender
actually obliged the applicant to obtain evidence himself. Such a resolution of
the case constitutes a reversal of the burden of proof, which is completely
contrary to the standards established by national and international law and
practice in discrimination cases.
When a citizen confronts the
system of the Ministry, he is under asymmetric subordination and is unable to
himself obtain many evidences. This is why the legislation entitles the Ombudsman to question relevant witnesses, request and
examine additional information. Regrettably, in the case of Goga Razmadze, the Ombudsman refused
to exercise this authority and considered the case in complete disregard of the
norms prescribed by law. Moreover, such an approach damages the legal
guarantees of whistleblowers that undermines the possibilities of fighting
corruption in the public service.
We call on the
Public Defender to follow the applicable legislation, to allocate the burden of
proof in a manner that does not put the employee in a disadvantageous position
in relation to the employer, and to treat the case of each employee with due
care and diligence.
Center
of Human Rights
Equality Movement
Partnership for Human Rights
Sapari
Young Lawyers Association of Georgia
Georgian Democracy Initiative
Open Society Georgia Foundation
Social Justice Center
Tolerance and Diversity Institute
Rights Georgia
Women`s Initiatives Supporting Group (WISG)