In 2011, ECMI has seen significant progress under this larger intervention funded by the Government of Denmark, and implemented in partnership with the Council of Europe. The first half of 2011 saw the consolidation of institutional changes that were initiated in late 2010 in the field of national minority governance in Georgia. Restructuring carried out in the Office of the State Minister for Reintegration (SMR) and the National Security Council (NSC) resulted in the shaping of a more operational structure. A new Department on Human Rights, Minorities and Rule of Law was established under the National Security Council, which has been mandated to oversee policy development and conceptualization in the field. The department is also responsible for reporting on international treaty bodies.

Under the general objective of furthering sustainable and credible governance on national minorities in Georgia in accordance with the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, ECMI supports the implementation of a process, initiated with the adoption in May 2009 of a National Concept on Tolerance and Civil Integration by the Georgian Government. The successful implementation of the National Concept requires the efficient functioning of an institutional framework for minority governance. Under the programme, ECMI provides technical and policy advisory support to this new body, and continues, like in previous years, to support the SMR and the Council of National Minorities (CNM) under the Public Defender of Georgia.

The ECMI action has served to implement a number of important activities this year, including measures to support the drafting of Georgia’s state report on the Framework Convention on National Minorities, efforts to support the coordination of government implementation of policies towards minorities through the State Inter-Agency Commission on Civic Integration, as well as support to the monitoring of the implementation carried out by the CNM.

Denmark's Caucasus Programme 2010-2013 promotes judicial reforms and standards for human rights and national minority protection throughout Georgia. The programme is funded by the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and implemented by the Council of Europe in partnership with ECMI Caucasus. The programme is a continuation of Denmark's Caucasus Programme 2008-2009, which played an important role in facilitating the progress of the Georgian government in fulfilling its accession commitments in the field of justice reform as well as advancing human and minority rights. Denmark's Caucasus Programme 2010-2013 consists of three components:

While the first two components are implemented by the Council of Europe, Component III is executed by ECMI. Component III aims at furthering the sustainable and credible governance on national minorities in Georgia in accordance with the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. This minority component will serve to implement a number of activities under three main themes:

Download ECMI Call for Proposal in Word.

Download Project Application Form in Word.

Download Budget Form in Word.

A min-grant mechanism for the Council of National Minorities and member NGOs will be launched within the framework of Denmark's Caucasus Programme 2010-2013 under Component III. The objective of this initiative will be to strengthen the organization of the Council of National Minorities' member NGOs through project development and management training. Together these activities will provide the means to implement mini-grant projects and to acquire the knowledge of how to map as well as address specific issues of concern. Furthermore, the minority community organizations will be empowered in implementing grass-root initiatives with the help of the mini-grant mechanism. The first stage and call for applications is envisaged to begin in the coming months.