online presentation of the project Civil Society Action for Promoting Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Georgia was held
On April 8, 2021, the online presentation of the project Civil Society Action for Promoting Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Georgia was held. The purpose of the event was to introduce the participants to the key activities and objectives of the project. The project is implemented by Changes for Equal Rights (CER) and Coalition for Independent Living (CIL) with the support of the European Union.
Temur Kakabadze, the Chairman of Changes for Equal Rights and Ana Tsitsagi, Project Manager, provided stakeholders with detailed information on the activities planned within the project. The project focuses on developing the capacity of civil society organizations to enhance access to justice and eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities including women with disabilities and those belonging to ethnic minority groups through effective advocacy and development of the legal services.
To this end, the project will form three Disability Advocacy Teams (DATs) in Tbilisi, Adjara and Kakheti who will identify and study the discrimination cases with the priority focus on intersection of disability, ethnic origin and/or gender discrimination. The DATs will provide legal advice to all interested parties, seek evidence in the case, prepare a lawsuit, and ensure that persons with disabilities are represented in court as necessary.
The initiative also envisages developing a judicial training module on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with the involvement of an international expert and in cooperation with the High School of Justice. The project will also explore the opportunities for integration of the module in continuous training programs of the High School of Justice.
Further the project will strengthen the regional disability organizations of Kakheti and Adjara regions through relevant training and support activities.
Lastly, the project will focus on improving the implementation of legal capacity law reform. This will be achieved by conducting research aimed at exploring the daily realities, specific needs and experiences of persons with psycho-social needs and their supporters, based on which the progress of the reform will be assessed and the relevant recommendations developed.
During the project presentation, the speeches were given by Dominika Skubida, the Programme Officer of the EU Delegation; Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chairperson of the Committee on Human Rights and Civil Integration; Rati Ionatamishvili, the Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on Human Rights and Civil Integration, Deputy Mayor of Batumi, Archil Chikovani, Mayor of Batumi Vano Bolkvadze and Giorgi Dzneladze, Chairman of the Coalition for Independent Living.