United Nations Human Rights Website - Treaty Bodies Database - Document - Sessional/Annual Report of Committee - 112. The initial report of Georgia, dated 4 June 1996, was due on 24 November 1995, but the situation of insecurity in Georgia since 1992 may explain the late submission of the report. 113. The initial report generally follows the Committee's guidelines satisfactorily, except in one respect: it was not accompanied by a core report, as the Committee's reporting guidelines require. 114. The Committee thanks the delegation of Georgia for its introductory remarks and for its constructive dialogue with the Committee. 2. Positive aspects 115. Georgia is one of the States parties that have not expressed a reservation on article 20 of the Convention. 116. The Committee notes with satisfaction the policy of the Government aimed at instituting structural reforms to reflect the provisions of the Convention. This policy is reflected in the new Constitution; in the draft presidential decree on urgent measures for the halting of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; and in the creation of the Committee for Human Rights and Relations Between the Peoples, as well as of a constitutional court, a public defender and an ombudsman. 117. The Committee also considers important the willingness of the representatives of Georgia to acknowledge that, despite the reforms referred to above, torture and ill-treatment occur in places of detention and elsewhere. Acknowledgement is a step, but only the first step, towards resolving the problem. 118. The Committee further considers important the openness of the Government, as reflected in its cooperative activities with recognized international human rights bodies. 3. Factors and difficulties impeding the application of the provisions of the Convention 119. The Committee acknowledges the following: (a) The political and economic conditions of the country have proved impediments to reform; (b) The bureaucracy lacks the will to embrace the constitutional and legal reforms robustly; (c) The independence of the judiciary is not as obvious as it should be; (d) There is a clear disjunction between the legal rules of protection and their implementation; (e) The international human rights instruments, including the Convention against Torture, are not available in the Georgian language. 4. Subjects of concern http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/de75e94f920bd0a0802565a600537744?Opendocument (23 of 109)16/10/2006 9:54:12 AM