PRI conducts expert meetings on holistic rehabilitation and torture prevention in Tbilisi

Within the framework of the Torture Prevention project two consecutive events were organised in Tbilisi for experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia between 23 – 30 November 2011. One event was training of trainers provided by Freedom from Torture on holistic rehabilitation issues and the other was an expert meeting with the researcher from the Bristol University to discuss the country background studies on Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The Bristol University Human Rights Implementation Centre and Freedom from Torture are the official partners of PRI Torture Prevention project.

The ToT of the Freedom from Torture was a long planned and well organised event, where apart from the training participants also received all the needed materials for their further trainings that they are going to deliver to others. The Trainer’s manual and other training materials on holistic rehabilitation were developed specifically for this event. The group of trainees was a multidisciplinary one comprised of lawyers and psychologists. The trainees were mainly acquainted with the holistic rehabilitation as an approach for the work with the survivors of torture and also techniques of training adult professionals on rehabilitation work. On the last day of the event the participants of the training group met with one of the rehabilitation centres in Tbilisi, “Emphaty”. The mentioned organisation provides rehabilitation services to the victims of torture and a number of their staff was trained within the framework of the PRI current Torture Prevention project. The meeting with the executive director of the organisation was very fruitful also because a number of future possible cooperation aspects where discussed.
The meeting of national experts with the Bristol University researcher was mainly aimed at reviewing the draft country background reports and adding the missing information. The researcher brought forward some questions that he came across while working on the papers. The country experts were also asked to provide relevant comments on sections of the country reports, which they think could have more relevant information. The three day expert workshop was very productive and as a result the country background research papers were enriched with the relevant information received from the country experts and also with recommendations to the states at the end of the research papers.
Both events were organised by the PRI regional office in Tbilisi within the framework of the Torture Prevention project. The PRI Tbilisi office provided all the logistical and organisation support for the events and they both went flawless.

Apart from the mentioned events, PRI also met with some local partners on the ground, in particular with the Ombudsman of Georgia and UN OHCHR regional office executives. With both partners the possible future cooperation was discussed. The OHCHR office in particular expressed willingness to participate in the upcoming events of PRI next year and also support PRI on local level in all three South Caucasus republics.