A grandfather and granddaughter with physical disabilities live together with their family in a second story apartment in Sachkhere, in Georgia’s Imereti region. Because their building does not have any accommodations for persons with disabilities, the family’s two wheelchair users are unable to leave home. As a result, they are prevented from exercising their constitutional rights to participate in civic, political, economic, social, and cultural life.

The family requested that the Sachkhere Municipality make the building entrance wheelchair accessible, but the Municipality refused, citing a lack of resources. In response, lawyers from the Coalition for Independent Living (CIL) filed a lawsuit with the Sachkhere District Court on the family’s behalf. The case was part of USAID’s Disability Legal Advocacy Project (DLAP), which works to implement the principles set forth in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

In March 2016, the court ruled in the family’s favor, requiring the Municipality to disregard the previous administrative decision and to investigate, evaluate, and act to build a ramp at the building’s entrance. The ruling marks a new step forward in enforcing disability rights and sends a clear signal that the courts will no longer accept a “lack of resources” as an argument for failing to support and defend the rights of every Georgian citizen.

This is one of the first court cases to challenge a State agency’s refusal to defend the rights of the disabled, and it will set a precedent for other courts to enforce disability rights throughout Georgia.

“Well done! I have regained faith in human beings again,” the mother of the family exclaimed when she heard the court’s decision. “You are a team of strong, competent, and courageous professionals who have heard my plea for a dignified life for my daughter and my father.” She then turned to the DLAP lawyers, adding, “Thank you, and good luck with all your future endeavors in the fight for the rights of persons with disabilities.”