Georgia: President Salome Zourabichvili meets Georgian Ombudsman Levan Ioseliani

Tbilisi: The Public Defender of Georgia, Levan Ioseliani, met with the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili on March 22, 2023. This was the first meeting between the Georgian President and the newly appointed Public Defender of Georgia.

At the introductory meeting, the Georgian President congratulated the Ombudsman on his appointment as the Georgian Ombudsman and wished him success in his future endeavours. The parties at the meeting talked about the standards of democratic values of Georgia and the importance of institutional independence.

President Salome Zourabichvili also extended her supported for the Ombudsman in the management of the human rights protection activities in the country and expressed her readiness for cooperation.

On March 22, the Georgian Ombudsman also met with the United States Ambassador to Georgia, Kelly Degnan, who congratulated for his position and wished him luck for his tenure as the Georgian Ombudsman.

Kelly Degnan also expressed great respect for the institution and expressed her support in the difficult case of defending human rights. At the meeting, the parties confirmed their desire and willingness to continue the tradition of close cooperation between the Ombudsman and the US Embassy.

Further, the US Ambassador noted, “The Institute of Ombudsman is the achievement of Georgian democracy. The autonomy of the Public Defender’s office is an essentially important characteristic for the supervision of human rights and freedom protection in Georgia.

We are the proud supporters of the entire Ombudsman team as well as every individual and organization working to defend human rights in our partner country.”