Provision of children with clothing remains to be problematic. In the course of the visit
to the establishment it was noted during the interview with the mothers who are placed
with their children that the children do not have sufficient clothing, especially the shoes,
therefore, they do not take children outside in the cold weather. Warm boots and coats
are of special need. The Ministry of Corrections of Georgia referred to the assistance of
the Georgian Orthodox Church and other unitary measures related to the above matter,
however, did not discuss more effective and sustainable ways of solving the problem.
Women prisoners should be given the possibility to implement various measures in order to ensure the guardianship. In this case the Bangkok Rules give the opportunity of
temporary release of the female inmates for a reasonable time. Any decision should
be taken in line with the best interests of the child, which should be balanced with the
public interest typical to the penitentiary system.215
In his Parliamentary Report of 2014 the Public Defender has addressed the Ministry of
Corrections with the recommendation to improve and revise the standards of children
leaving the institution in line with the best interests of the child. According to the response received from the Ministry of Corrections, the social worker and a psychologist
of the facility meet the child and a mother and contact the Social Service Agency in order
to find a guiardian. It was noted in the response that in October 2015, with the support
of the UNICEF, the meeting took place, which was attended by the representatives of
Government, as well as Non-Governmental organizations. According to their explanation, it is planned to conduct another such meeting for regulation of the above issue in
accordance with international standards and best practice. It should be noted that this
is not sufficient and it is necessary to take effective steps. The Public Defender’s Office
will further observe the process of children’s withdrawal from the establishment and its
compliance with international regulations.
In the living building designated for mothers in the institution N5, still problematic is the
lack of products to prepare adequate meals for themselves and their children. There
are cases when they take food intended for other prisoners. It is important to solve the
problem of children’s nutrition in accordance with the State’s standards, since the State
is obliged to take care of the children who are placed in the institution under its control. The Public Defender of Georgia has addressed the Ministry of Corrections with the
recommendation related to this matter in his Parliamentary Report of 2014. According
to the reponse MOC11600111071 received from the Ministry on 9 February 2015, in
case of a mother’s request, nutrition products for children are issued additionally. At the
same time, mothers are provided with the nutrition products to prepare the meals. Besides, with the UNICEF and the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia,
215 The UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women
Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), Rule 52(2)(3).
138
NATIONAL PREVENTIVE MECHANISM (NPM), 2015
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents