The state ensures social protection for the Public Defender and the employees of the Public Defender's Office.

Members of the "Georgian Dream" party have presented a bill in Parliament, which stipulates that the social protection guarantees provided by the "Public Service Law" will be extended to the Public Defender and the employees of the Office, including guarantees related to injury or death during the performance of their official duties.

In addition, the Public Defender and the employees of the Office will be subject to mandatory state insurance.

According to the initiators, once the law comes into force, 130 individuals will be subject to insurance. The cost of insuring one individual will range from approximately 1900 to 2300 GEL annually (about 160 to 190 GEL per month).

"Employees of the Public Defender's Office play a significant role in raising human rights and freedoms protection standards, identifying violations, and facilitating the restoration of violated rights and freedoms.

During the execution of this mission, due to the nature of their work, they are involved in numerous legal and social disputes, interact directly with representatives of various vulnerable groups, often work on emotionally difficult topics, and periodically visit institutions where there might be threats not only to their health but also to their lives.

All of this naturally increases the risks of psychological stress, physical overload, professional burnout, and health damage.

The state is obligated to ensure that those actively working in the field of human rights protection do not themselves suffer from labor, social, and health-related issues.

The proposed bill aims to achieve this goal by creating additional protection mechanisms for the safety and health of Public Defender’s Office employees. These mechanisms include social protection guarantees related to injury or death during the performance of official duties and mandatory state insurance, which will help reduce the aforementioned risks.

The introduction of social protection guarantees, including mandatory state insurance for employees of the Georgian Public Defender’s Office, will contribute to increased motivation and engagement, directly impacting the quality and results of their work. When employees know they have high-quality social protection mechanisms in place, ensuring their social protection, welfare, accessible medical services, and other assistance, they experience less stress related to their work, concentrate more on their tasks, handle situations that threaten their health and well-being more effectively, approach their work with greater responsibility, and demonstrate the high professionalism they already possess, which directly reflects in their work outcomes and contributes to the increased effectiveness of the Public Defender’s Office," the explanatory note attached to the bill states.