Tatia Kinkladze

Country Expert on Georgia and the South Caucasus — Human Rights Lawyer and Gender Expert

Summary
Independent country expert and lawyer specialising in human rights, gender and the rule of law in Georgia and the wider South Caucasus. Prepares country-conditions research and expert reports for asylum and international-protection proceedings, to the procedural standards of the relevant jurisdiction. Eighteen years of legal, litigation and human-rights monitoring experience, including strategic litigation before national courts, the Constitutional Court and quasi-judicial bodies, and contributions to shadow reports and individual communications to United Nations treaty bodies. Holds two Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees — one earned in Georgia and one in Germany. Works in excellent written and spoken English.

Countries of Expertise
Georgia; the wider South Caucasus and Eastern Partnership region.

Details of Country Expertise
Country-conditions expertise grounded in eighteen years of legal, litigation and human-rights monitoring practice within Georgia's courts and institutions — including familiarity with domestic legislation, court and constitutional procedure, and the practical functioning of the justice system and how marginalised individuals experience it. Areas covered across asylum-relevant themes:

Gender-based violence, discrimination and vulnerable groups
Violence against women and girls, domestic violence and femicide; the treatment of LGBTIQ+ individuals and the social hostility and inadequate protection they face; and discrimination against women, minorities and other marginalised groups — drawing on strategic litigation, survivor-centred and trauma-informed casework, and comparative analysis of national courts, the European Court of Human Rights and UN treaty-body jurisprudence.

Political violence, elections and civic space
Political and electoral violence, the misuse of administrative resources, and the deteriorating environment for civil society and human-rights defenders, including the human-rights situation following the 2024 parliamentary elections — relevant to protection claims based on political opinion, activism and particular social group.

Access to justice and international mechanisms
The functioning of the judiciary, access to justice and state accountability, and the use of UN human-rights mechanisms — treaty-body reporting, individual communications and the Universal Periodic Review — in assessing whether effective protection is available in practice.

Experience
Over eighteen years of professional experience across strategic litigation, human-rights monitoring, policy and international development. Has led strategic litigation on gender-based discrimination and political violence before national courts, the Constitutional Court and the national ombudsperson's office; worked with EU-funded programmes, United Nations agencies, a European intergovernmental human-rights body and international NGOs; contributed shadow reports and individual communications to UN treaty bodies (CEDAW, CERD, CRPD and the Human Rights Committee); and trained lawyers, judges and civil-society staff in strategic litigation and gender-sensitive legal practice. Additional experience as an invited university lecturer and as an international election observer. Available for the preparation of country-conditions and expert reports, document verification, and expert testimony (in person or online).

Languages
Georgian (Native), English (Full Professional Proficiency), German (Intermediate), Russian (Working Proficiency).

Political Groups
Opposition members, civil society activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and individuals at risk on the basis of political opinion or activism, including in connection with the human-rights situation following the 2024 parliamentary elections.

Social and Vulnerable Groups
Women and girls at risk of gender-based and domestic violence; survivors of sexual and gender-based violence; LGBTIQ+ individuals facing social hostility and inadequate protection; and victims of discrimination.

Ethnic and Religious Minorities
Ethnic and religious minorities across Georgia and the wider South Caucasus.

Selected Publications
Human Rights Crisis in Georgia Following the 2024 Parliamentary Elections (2025). Gender Analysis of Parliamentary Elections (2024). Misuse of Administrative Resources for Elections: International Standards, Georgia's Regulatory Framework and Practice (2023). Femicide and Related Challenges in Georgia — policy paper (2020). State Anti-Discrimination Policy and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (2019). Author of 25+ further publications, reports and policy papers on elections, discrimination, gender equality and LGBTIQ+ rights.