Gov’t announces new national action plan at Int’l Day of Persons with Disabilities
The Georgian Government announced that work to fulfil the goals and objectives outlined in the second National Strategy for the Protection of Human Rights of Georgia for 2022-2030 was underway. Photo: Salome Tsereteli/Agenda.ge
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On the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities marked annually on December 3, the Georgian Government on Sunday announced that work to fulfil the goals and objectives outlined in the second National Strategy for the Protection of Human Rights of Georgia for 2022-2030, adopted in 2023, was underway by developing a 2024-2026 national action plan.
The action plan will cover “all fundamental rights and freedoms” and also, focus on protecting the rights of vulnerable groups, the Government Administration said.
In the documents, special attention is devoted to the rights of disabled persons, [...] envisaging tasks that ensure their equality and accessibility, in particular, emphasising the needs and challenges of women with disabilities and disabled individuals living in the regions”, the body said.
It added that the protection of the rights of people with disabilities and the integration of their interests into state policy remained one of the priorities of the Government.
The Administration stressed an Interagency Coordination Committee responsible for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - established at the initiative of Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili in 2021 - would continue the implementation of the UN General Committee’s recommendations issued after the state submitted a report on the rights of persons with disabilities in 2023.
Public institutions continue to develop and implement annual action plans together with organisations working on the rights of disabled persons under the Law of Georgia on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”, the Administration said.
It also added that “important steps” were being taken both in terms of coordination and improvement of service delivery and accessibility to fulfil the obligations assumed by the international and national legislation.
The European Union on Tuesday published its annual 2022 report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World, in which it assessed that overall Georgia has a “solid” human rights framework, including legislations and policies in line with international and European standards.
Shalva Papuashvili, the Georgian Parliament Speaker, on Wednesday said the country’s legislative body was marking this year’s Day of Protection of Rights of the People with Disabilities on the back of “important decisions” made over the recent years to “assert the rights” of disabled individuals across the country.
Georgia’s Justice Ministry on Tuesday said it had approved the 2023 action plan for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities, ensuring compliance with the relevant United Nations Convention and serving to improve the accessibility of the related infrastructure, services and offerings for persons with disabilities.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia on Saturday announced the Patrol Police Department's unified service centres would offer up to 50 services for the deaf and hard of hearing individuals in sign language from 2023, to fulfil the tasks of the action plan for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Sunday said the role and commitment of disabled persons, including injured military personnel, were “particularly noteworthy” today with “just a few days left before the European Council grants Georgia the European Union membership candidate status”.
The Georgian National Competition Agency on Monday said it had launched investigations on 285 issues related to protection of consumer rights out of 509 complaints it had received between November 2022 and March 2023.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Agency of Georgia on Monday said it had received 578 complaints on violations of consumer rights between November 2022 and January 2024 and opened cases on 340 of the submissions.