Rati Ionatamishvili, Member of Parliament of Georgia, participates in the work of the 15th Assembly of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) held in New York under the auspices of the United Nations.
The MP addressed the participants of the Assembly and spoke about the policy pursued by the state to improve the rights of persons with disabilities in Georgia.
“My country – Georgia is a small, proud and free country, 20% of which is occupied by the Russian Federation. As the world continues to face an unprecedented global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, indigenous peoples living in the Russian-occupied Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali regions have become even more vulnerable. Unfortunately, people with disabilities living there experience extreme human rights abuses. The list of their violated rights is quite extensive. From this high tribune, I want to greet them because I know that they will listen to us and tell us that we care and care about their fate and legal status. For the rest of Georgia, the last two years have been two years of change for the rights of people with disabilities – we have completed the harmonization of national legislation with the CRPD values and principles, and we ratified the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention, which was doubly exciting for me because I was obsessed with ratifying this document when I was an activist for people with disabilities. We have approved new national access standards, increased rehabilitation/habilitation services by 100% in 4 years, and set up a committee responsible for implementing the CRPD with the Prime Minister,” said Rati Ionatamishvili.
According to him, the current priority of the government is to move to a social model and increase access to justice, women’s health services for the disabled and the Paralympic movement.
“It is our duty to make all decisions quickly and inclusively because protracted decisions mean a lost generation for people with disabilities, which we should never allow anyone else or ourselves to do. I would like to end my speech with solidarity with the people with disability living in Ukraine who have faced the brutality of war this year. Also, as a result of this war, many Ukrainians have become disabled, and it is the responsibility of each of us to create the necessary conditions for a dignified life,” said Rati Ionatamishvili.
