Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel, Tbilisi, June 14, 2016, 9:30am-5:00pm - The Coalition for Independent Living (CIL), with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will mark National Disability Rights Day with a forum on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The forum will raise public awareness about disability rights issues in Georgia and around the world.

The event will bring representatives from disabled people’s organizations from across Georgia together with local, national, and international government officials to discuss Georgia’s progress toward ensuring full citizenship for persons with disabilities. Two years ago, the Parliament of Georgia ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which recognizes that differently abled people require equality, dignity, autonomy, independence, inclusion, and accessibility. Throughout the forum, over 200 participants will review their achievements and challenges since ratification and evaluate ongoing reforms. 

The forum is a joint effort supported by USAID, CIL, Human Rights Secretariat of the Government of Georgia, United Nations Development Programme, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and International Labour Organization. In attendance will be U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly; USAID Mission Director Douglas Ball; Minister of Justice of Georgia – Tea Tsulukiani; Deputy Minister of Labour, Healthcare and Social Affairs – Zaza Sopromadze; Deputy Minister of Education and Science –Lia Gigauri; Public Defender of Georgia – Ucha Nanuashvili; Deputy Head of Operations of the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia Stephen Stork; Deputy Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Georgia Shombi Sharp; members of the CIL; and representatives of various other local and international organizations.