The Committee on the Rights of the Child today concluded its consideration of the combined fifth and sixth periodic report of Georgia, with Committee Experts welcoming the adoption of the Child Rights Code and raising questions about measures addressing sexual violence against children and child marriage. Hynd Ayoubi Idrissi, Committee Expert and Coordinator of the Country Taskforce for Georgia, welcomed the adoption of the Child Rights Code, which promoted children’s right to grow up in a family environment. What had been done to harmonise other legislation with the Code? One Committee Expert said the prevalence of sexual violence against children was concerning. There was a need to strengthen systems for referral of cases of sexual and gender-based violence and data collection and increase the number of social workers. How was the State party addressing these issues? Another Committee Expert asked how the State party was tackling forced marriage and kidnapping of girls? Was it encouraging reporting of such incidents and enforcing effective sanctions? What protection schemes were in place for victims of child marriage who filed complaints? Introducing the report, Niko Tatulashvili, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Georgia on Human Rights Issues and head of the delegation, said that in 2019, the Parliament of Georgia adopted the Child Rights Code, under which all forms of violence, including corporal punishment, were explicitly prohibited; a national data collection and analysis plan was established; and an assessment of the impact of legislation and policies on the rights of the child was made mandatory. The delegation added that the Child Standing Parliamentary Council was monitoring enforcement of the Code. On measures to address sexual violence against children, the delegation said the Law on Combatting Sexual Crimes established a register of convicted persons. The Government was constantly implementing awareness raising campaigns on preventing sexual violence. There had been an 86 per cent increase in prosecutions in sexual violence cases after the specialisation of prosecutors dealing with sexual violence cases in 2022. Various initiatives were in place to address the shortage of social workers; since 2020, social workers’ salaries had been doubled. The delegation said the State party had a strict policy concerning the prevention of child marriage. Persons who facilitated child marriage were punished with two to four years imprisonment. The Ministry of Internal Affairs had investigated around 700 cases that related to child marriage over the reporting period, and over 500 people had been convicted. A campaign aiming to eliminate child marriage was being carried out, which had reached over two million persons. In closing remarks, Ms. Idrissi said that the dialogue had been extremely fruitful. Much progress had been made in Georgia, but there were problems that needed to be addressed further, including sexual violence and violence against children. Ms. Idrissi said she was certain that there would be further progress in Georgia in implementing the Convention over the next reporting period. In his concluding remarks, Mr. Tatulashvili said that the State party would give due regard to the Committee’s concluding observations when implementing policies and programmes. Mr. Tatulashvili thanked the Committee Experts for their questions and recommendations. Georgia was committed to promoting human rights and supporting the work of the Treaty Bodies system, he concluded. The delegation of Georgia consisted of representatives from the Parliament of Georgia; Tbilisi City Court; Office of the Prosecutor General; Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs; Ministry of Justice; High Council of Justice; Ministry of Internal Affairs; Office of the State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civic Equality; Ministry of Education, Science and Youth; Administration of the Government of Georgia; and the Permanent Mission of Georgia to the United Nations Office at Geneva. The Committee will issue the concluding observations on the report of Georgia at the end of its ninety-sixth session on 24 May. Those, and other documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, will be available on the session’s webpage. Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here. The Committee will next meet in public this afternoon at 3 p.m. to consider the combined third to fifth periodic report of Mali (CRC/C/MLI/3-5). Report The Committee has before it the combined fifth and sixth periodic report of Georgia (CRC/C/GEO/5-6). Presentation of Report NIKO TATULASHVILI, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Georgia on Human Rights Issues and head of the delegation, emphasised Georgia’s commitment to human rights protection and cooperation with the United Nations human rights monitoring mechanisms. To ensure the effective implementation of Georgia’s reporting obligations before the United Nations Treaty Bodies, the State party had developed an inclusive national reporting process with the active engagement of all relevant stakeholders. Throughout previous years, numerous important reforms had been implemented to protect and promote children’s rights, though certain challenges remained that needed to be addressed. In 2019, the Parliament of Georgia adopted the Code of the Rights of the Child. The Code created a strong legal framework for the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the child. Under the Code, the responsibilities of different branches of the Government and local government in the field of child rights were separated; the concept of best interests of the child was introduced; all forms of violence, including corporal punishment, were explicitly prohibited; a national data collection and analysis plan was established; mandatory specialisations for professionals working with children were introduced; and an assessment of the impact of legislation and policies on the rights of the child was made mandatory. In 2023, the Parliament of Georgia ratified the Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance and its Protocol on the Law Applicable to Maintenance Obligations. In 2023, the National Human Rights Strategy for the period of 2022-2030 was approved. The strategy covered all fundamental human rights and freedoms including civil, political, social, economic and cultural. One chapter of the Strategy was dedicated specifically to the rights of a child. In the same year, the Government approved the Action Plan for the Protection of Human Rights 2024-2026. The goal of the action plan was to improve the mechanisms for protection of child rights and their well-being, considering the best interests of the child. The National Strategy of Education and Science of Georgia for 2022-2030 aimed to ensure equal access to inclusive, equitable and quality education, as well as improved opportunities for lifelong learning for all. The State Strategy for Civic Equality and Integration for 2021–2030 and the respective action plans provided for national minority children’s access to quality education and language tuition for further integration into the Georgian society. The Mental Health Strategy for 2022–2030 promoted mental health care and well-being for children and adolescents and their families. To better coordinate and monitor the implementation of the Convention, the Rights of the Child Standing Parliamentary Council was set up in 2019; the Inter-agency Commission for the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of a Child was established in 2016; and structural units for child protection and support were established within the municipalities. Juvenile justice was administered in Georgia only by members of the judiciary who were specialised in juvenile cases. From 2018 onwards, the State party had worked to create a child-friendly environment in several units of the Prosecutor"s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the courts, and the Legal Aid Service. In 2020, a Juvenile Referral Centre was established in the Ministry of Justice to effectively implement rehabilitation and resocialisation programmes for children in conflict with the law who were below the minimum age of criminal responsibility. The mandate of the Legal Aid Service had been extended in 2020 and free legal services were made available to all minors, regardless of their financial status. As a result, the number of the application from minors for legal aid services increased by 27 per cent. In 2022, the Psychosocial Service Centre for juvenile victims of sexual violence was established in Tbilisi, and one more centre would be established soon in the west part of Georgia. The State budget on healthcare and social programmes gradually increased every year. In 2023, the State launched an unprecedented programme for the treatment of children diagnosed with cancer. The treatment of all beneficiaries was fully funded. To date, more than 50 children had participated in the programme. The dismantling of large children"s institutions had been successfully completed. Children in State care were placed either in foster care or a small family-type house. The introduction of inclusive education in all public schools started in 2015. Positions had been opened for inclusive education support specialists, inclusive education coordinators, special teachers and psychologists at schools. Ethnic minorities in Georgia had access to all levels of education. Since 2020, the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth had implemented the Bilingual Education Programme in non-Georgian kindergartens and schools. The construction and rehabilitation of 130 schools was finalised over the reporting period. In the same period, 40 kindergartens were constructed or rehabilitated and more than 800 would be constructed in the coming years. Different State agencies were constantly carrying out campaigns, informational meetings, and trainings regarding children’s rights. One example was the country-wide information campaign initiated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs aiming to prevent child marriage. The human rights situation had extremely deteriorated in the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions of Georgia occupied by the Russian Federation. The Government was actively pursuing a reconciliation and engagement policy to facilitate interaction of divided communities across the occupation line and improve the conditions of people living in the occupied territories. Its efforts had particular emphasis on conflict-affected children and their needs. The State Referral Healthcare Programme ensured the provision of free medical services to patients from the occupied regions in the medical facilities located in the territory controlled by the Government. Between 2018 and 2024, around 1,000 children benefited from this programme. In addition, students from Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region and South Ossetia could enter Georgian higher educational institutions through a unified national exam. Their education and living expenses were funded by the State. Between 2019 and 2023, around 1,500 students from the occupied regions were enrolled in higher education institutions of Georgia. Questions by Committee Experts HYND AYOUBI IDRISSI, Committee Expert and Coordinator of the Country Taskforce for Georgia, said that the situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia was worrying. Children in these regions could not study in their own language, Georgian. It was difficult for support mechanisms to reach the children in this region. Ms. Idrissi welcomed the adoption of the Child Rights Code. What had been done to harmonise other legislation with the Code and train officials who worked with children on the Code? The State party had adopted a human rights strategy covering the period of 2022 to 2030 and a plan of action for the implementation of the strategy, which was most welcome. What elements of the strategy encouraged deinstitutionalisation and improvement of the justice system for children? Had the State party assessed the effectiveness of the previous national action plan and reflected this assessment in the new plan? Georgia had a Parliamentary Council and an inter-institutional agency both working on the rights of the child. How did the mandates of these mechanisms differ? There was a new mechanism for coordination between the central and regional governments. What did this mechanism do? What progress had been made to setup the electronic data gathering system planned for introduction in 2025? Was the State party revising its national plan on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals? What share of the budget was set aside for the rights of the child? Had efforts been made to adopt a child rights sensitive budget? Ms. Idrissi commended the State party’s efforts to disseminate information on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. What measures were in place to strengthen knowledge of the rights of vulnerable children and improve the skills of public officials who worked with children? How did the State party support children whose rights had been violated to lodge complaints? Had the State party informed children that it had ratified the Optional Protocol on the communications procedure, which was very positive? Was the Ombudsperson empowered to handle complaints from children, and could it adopt a specific child rights mechanism? Was civil society involved in the preparation of the report and in development of State policies and strategies? What measures were in place to strengthen corporate social responsibility? Had the State party developed a regulatory framework for the actions of businesses and their impact on children’s rights? Had the State party assessed the impact of its efforts to promote the best interests of the child? Had the State party set up guidelines for persons who worked with children in schools and places of care? What measures were in place to support the work of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs? How was the State party promoting vaccination of children? Another Committee Expert welcomed that the Government had undertaken numerous initiatives to protect the rights of vulnerable groups. What was the position of the Government on supporting access to information and support for undocumented children? What laws addressed the legal status of aliens and stateless persons? What policies and programmes were in place on children’s right to information, mental health and their right to privacy? The Expert commended the adoption of the law combating sexual violence and the establishment of the support centre for child victims of violence. There was a need to strengthen systems for referral of cases and data collection and increase the number of social workers. The prevalence of sexual violence against children was also concerning. How was the State party addressing these issues? How would the State expand support services for victims across the country? Were there regulations for psychological and social workers? How was the quality of psychological services guaranteed? How was the State party supporting child victims of violence in the occupied territories? Was the State party providing accessible shelters for child victims of violence with disabilities? Was the helpline established for children during the COVID-19 pandemic still operational? How was the State party discouraging corporal punishment and promoting positive parenting? How was it tackling forced marriage and kidnapping of girls? Was it encouraging reporting of such incidents and enforcing effective sanctions? What protection schemes were in place for victims of child marriage who filed complaints? One Committee Expert welcomed the adoption of the Child Rights Code, which promoted children’s right to grow up in a family environment. Poverty levels among the child population were significant. The State party often resorted to institutionalisation of children. How did it assess the need of children in cases of domestic violence against children? What mechanisms were being adopted to identify violence against children and keep child victims within a family environment? Which public authorities made decisions on separations and placements in institutions? Had the State party assessed the scale of the problem of domestic violence? Was the prevalence of corporal punishment a cause of the high level of separations? Could parents place their children in religious institutions? Did religious institutions receive State subsidies? Did the State party have information on violent crimes occurring within religious institutions? The State party had made great progress in eliminating indirect adoption. How was the State party dealing with problems relating to adoption, particularly in remote areas? Did the State party have statistics on children with parents deprived of liberty? How was the State supporting those children? Responses by the Delegation The delegation said the human rights situation was worsening in the occupied territories. Children were deprived of their fundamental freedoms and of instruction in their native language in schools. An increasing number of people, including children, were being detained along the occupation lines. The Russian authorities were creating physical barriers on these lines and preventing children from accessing vital health, education and other services. Many people were prevented from returning to their homes and international organisations were regularly deprived of access to the occupied territories. The Russian authorities were repeatedly obstructing the activities of the organisations on the ground. The Government was using all possible means to ensure protection of human rights in the occupied territories. It was promoting de-occupation and demilitarisation along the occupation lines and seeking to support people affected by conflict, including children. The Government was pursuing a reconciliation policy to build trust between the alienated community living in the occupied territories, who underwent daily human rights violations. The Government’s Peace Initiative provided quality health services at no cost to persons living in the occupied regions through medical institutions controlled by the Government. Legal revisions allowed for residents to access free medical care more easily. In 2024, 30 million Georgian lari were invested in health care in the occupied territories. The Government also provided transportation of patients in and out of the territories to receive specialised medical care. Children living in the occupied regions had access to quality education programmes provided by the Government through the Peace Initiative. Since 2020, children who graduated from secondary education in the territories could enrol in higher education without exams and access scholarships and accommodation. More than 1,000 children had benefitted from this programme. The Peace Fund contributed to improving the general socioeconomic conditions in the occupied territories. Since 2019, more that 200 peacebuilding initiatives in the occupied territories had been approved by the Government. The Government’s former human rights strategy finished in 2020. An evaluation of the implementation of the strategy had been undertaken in 2019, which found improvements in human rights protections in legislation and identified gaps in local implementation of national human rights policies. The assessment informed the development of the current National Human Rights Strategy and Action Plan, which was adopted in 2023. Meetings were held with non-governmental organizations to discuss the contents of the strategy. Their recommendations were reflected in the final drafts of the strategy and action plan. The action plan had a dedicated budget, which had been supported by international donations. The Government submitted reports to Parliament on implementation of the action plan each year. Disaggregated data on children was collected by the National Statistics Office through measures such as the population census and the Office’s survey on children. Funds for the Ombudsperson had increased gradually in recent years. The finances provided to the Ombudsperson could not be reduced from those of the previous year. The Ombudsperson had a department that was monitoring the implementation of the Convention, considering complaints regarding violations of children’s rights, and conducting awareness raising campaigns on children’s rights. In 2023, the Ombudsperson had assessed 122 complaints of discrimination; four per cent of these involved discrimination based on age. There had been no convictions on the grounds of age-based discrimination in 2023. The State party cooperated with non-governmental organizations working on business and human rights issues. The National Human Rights Strategy had a chapter on business and human rights. The Labour Code stipulated children’s right to be protected from hazardous work. In 2021, the State party launched the labour inspection service. The service carried out more than 5,000 inspections in 2023, detecting violations in 11 workplaces involving 23 minors. The service issued administrative offence protocols and issued fines to businesses for violating minors’ rights; one construction site had been shut down as a penalty. A regulation had been developed on environmental impact assessments, and the State Environmental Agency monitored implementation of this regulation. Georgia was working to harmonise its environmental legislation in line with international standards. Multiple State agencies were involved in implementing awareness raising campaigns across the country, including campaigns addressing gender-based violence and discrimination. Informational meetings had been held on preventing violence against children and trafficking in persons. There were also information sessions held in schools on combatting hate speech and staying safe online. Around 2.5 billion Georgian lari would be spent on upgrading educational facilities. More than 150 million had been invested in early childhood learning centres. Laws and regulations had been developed over the reporting period related to protection of children on the internet; registration of children born through surrogacy; the 24-hour emergency response mechanism and the protection system for victims of domestic violence, including the Barnahus system; pre-school education; and access to justice for persons with disabilities. The Child Standing Parliamentary Council was monitoring enforcement of the Child Rights Code and developing recommendations to improve the situation of children. The Council was cooperating with civil society on various awareness raising campaigns. It was holding meetings to support communication between Government entities and civil society. A business advisory council for children had been created to support the realisation of children’s rights in the private sector. Children had access to confidential complaints mechanisms in all closed prisons in Georgia. They were informed about complaints mechanisms within 24 hours of their placement in institutions in a language they could understand. Social workers helped juveniles to fill out complaint forms confidentially. Boxes for submitting complaints were placed in a location accessible to detainees that was not monitored by security cameras. Legal and institutional mechanisms were in place to ensure timely birth registration across Georgia. Children born on Georgian territory could obtain Georgian citizenship. Minors whose citizenship was unknown were assumed to have Georgian citizenship until proven otherwise. The State party had a national action plan to end statelessness. It was working to intensify identification of stateless persons and had provided identification papers to 43 persons over the reporting period. Mobile units visited remote areas to provide birth registration services for unregistered children. Applications for birth registration could also be submitted through an online platform. Simplified procedures had been developed for the documentation of homeless children. The regulatory framework had been amended in recent years to enhance the registration of children born through surrogacy. Medical certificates needed to be submitted within two days of implantation. Children born through surrogacy were not restricted from receiving information about their origin. In 2017, Georgia adopted a neonatal health policy and an accompanying action plan for 2017 to 2023. A second action plan would be adopted this year. A programme supporting health care for children under five years of age and neonatal care was also in place. Mothers and children were screened for infectious diseases. All State health programmes had budgets that were increasing each year. The State programme for immunisation was managed by the National Centre for Public Health. The Centre provided training for public health staff on vaccines and their side-effects. The Government was working to increase public awareness of the importance of vaccination. The Government promoted an educational environment free from violence. Violence against students was prohibited by legislation. Schools were obliged to immediately respond to abuse of students. Students received compulsory education on preventing bullying, including cyber-bullying. The State party was providing training to teachers to support them to implement human rights education and promote a tolerant learning environment. Social workers provided counselling to students, parents and teachers. Around 127,000 students had participated in information sessions on preventing bullying and violence, and training programmes were provided to teachers on preventing violence in schools and early marriage. Crimes against minors were considered as aggravating circumstances. A mobile application had been developed by the State that children could use to report violence. Specialised officials oversaw cases involving juveniles. More than 2,000 judicial officials had specialisations in juvenile justice. All public investigators underwent training on investigating sexual violence. The Human Rights Department had developed standards for investigating juvenile cases. Child victims were provided with information about their right to access State support services and shelters. Electronic surveillance and restraining orders were used to prevent abusers from approaching victims. Violating restraining orders was punished with imprisonment. The Law on Combatting Sexual Crimes, adopted in the reporting period, established a register of convicted persons. Case managers monitored the activities of persons convicted of sexual violence crimes. The Government was constantly implementing awareness raising campaigns on preventing sexual violence. The State party had a strict policy concerning the prevention of child marriage. Persons who facilitated child marriage were punished with two to four years imprisonment. The Ministry of Internal Affairs had investigated around 700 cases that related to child marriage over the reporting period, and over 500 people had been convicted. Where an immediate response was required, restraining orders were issued and victims were placed in shelters and provided with information about their rights. A campaign aiming to eliminate child marriage was being carried out, which had reached over two million persons. The Prosecution Service was mandated to combat violence against children. It had issued guidelines for prosecutors on assessing cases involving sexual violence against children. There had been an 86 per cent increase in prosecutions in sexual violence cases after the specialisation of prosecutors dealing with sexual violence cases in 2022. In 2022 and 2023, over 400 persons were convicted for sex crimes against juveniles. The Prosecution Service no longer used plea bargains. There was an ongoing police investigation into a violent incident occurring at a boarding school. Forensic examinations into this case were ongoing. One person had been recognised as a victim in this case. An investigation into an alleged rape at this boarding school was also ongoing. Questions by Committee Experts One Committee Expert welcomed the various initiatives Georgia was implementing for children and said that they looked forward to future progress. How had legal instruments on disability rights contributed to improving services for children with disabilities? What resources were allocated to such services? How did the State party plan to improve the data it collected on disability? How was the State party supporting foster families hosting children with mental health problems? What awareness raising campaigns were in place to combat stigmatisation of children with disabilities? HYND AYOUBI IDRISSI, Committee Expert and Coordinator of the Country Taskforce for Georgia, said that there had been progress in providing cash transfers for children. Had the State party considered expanding cash transfers to cover more children, including migrant children? The high rate of child poverty was worrying. What was the State party doing to tackle child poverty, particularly in rural areas? What impact had climate change policies had on children in Georgia? To what extent had children’s views informed climate change policies? What measures were in place to implement Georgia’s strategy to combat terrorism and address the root causes of terrorism? How did the State protect children from being used in terrorist attacks or enrolled in non-State armed groups? What safeguards existed to ensure that military schools followed the same curricula as ordinary schools and did not subject students to military discipline? Was there a mechanism to monitor whether asylum seekers were taking part in armed conflict? How were asylum seekers supported to integrate into society? Another Committee Expert asked about measures to promote access to education for ethnic minorities in remote areas. There was work underway to build new public schools and renovate existing schools. How was the State party renovating pre-schools in rural areas, which often lacked access to water and sanitation? What measures were in place to allocate sufficient financial resources to early years education? How was the State party promoting access to quality education for all children, especially young children living in remote regions, and working to combat school dropouts? What measures had the State party taken to support all children to complete primary and secondary education for free? How was the State party ensuring quality training for teachers in rural areas? What strategies had been implemented to guarantee access to technology and promote digital literacy and remote education for children in rural areas? Were teachers being trained in non-violent discipline measures? How was the State party addressing restrictions on the use of Georgian language in schools and working to improve the quality of education in the occupied territories? A Committee Expert said that Georgia had various State programmes on health. Could the State party provide updated statistics on the effectiveness of these programmes? What strategies did the State party have to prevent early sexual relations to protect children from sexually transmitted diseases? What programmes provided mental health support for children? Could the State party provide statistics about migrant and internally displaced children in Georgia? What issues was the State party facing in this regard? Georgia had robust legislation on combatting labour exploitation. Was the State party planning to conduct a survey to understand the prevalence of child labour today? Was the Prosecutor’s Office involved in investigations into cases of child labour? In 2020, emergency response mechanisms aiming to support homeless children were established. Were homeless children identified by these mechanisms offered shelter and were they given work opportunities? The Government had developed a unified strategy and plan of action on protection of homeless children from violence and trafficking. What progress had been made on implementing the strategy and what gaps had been identified? How did the State party support the integration of homeless children into foster families and prevent the children from returning to the streets? Was training provided to prosecutors on juvenile justice mandatory, and how was it assessed? Why were social workers rather than legal professionals protecting the interests of children deprived of liberty? How many adolescents were currently serving sentences in detention centres and how was the State party administering pretrial and detention sentences to reintegrate adolescents into society? Had the State party conducted studies into the impact of legislation on surrogacy? Did people travel to other countries for surrogacy procedures, and how did the State party regulate the practice? Another Committee Expert asked whether an impact analysis had been carried out into the effects of the draft law on foreign influence on the work of civil society organizations working with children, and those of the proposed amendments to the Constitution. There were reports of an increasing number of racist and xenophobic acts and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. How was the State party protecting children who were affected by discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity? Responses by the Delegation The delegation said a Barnahus ’facility had been established in 2022 and up to 200 children had since received services in the Barnahus. There were plans to open a second centre in western Georgia to increase access to the service. Professional standards for psychologists and social workers had been prepared. Their salaries were increased yearly. Shelters were adapted to the needs of children. Upon placement in shelters, social workers assessed children’s needs and provided them with counselling and other services. The Children’s Helpline provided counselling and legal guidance to children 24 hours a day. The Helpline received an average of 400 calls per month. Boxes were placed in residential institutions where children could lodge complaints confidentially. The State party was working to ensure that the adoption system was in line with the Convention. Guidelines and recommendations had been prepared regarding adoptions. The number of adopted children had almost doubled between 2021 and 2023. Psychologists participated in the adoption process as needed. Social workers assessed the situation of children whose parents were incarcerated, placing them in foster homes as a priority or family care institutions. Social workers referred families in crisis situations to support services such as day care. Courts considered the best interests of the child in domestic violence cases. There were programmes promoting reintegration of child victims into a family setting. Social workers prepared individualised support plans for children in foster care, addressing children’s mental health and development needs. Funding for foster care had increased in 2024. State-funded mobile units and shelters were supporting homeless children. The State party was working to expand the reach, accessibility and effectiveness of these services. It aimed to place children in foster care or family-type homes as soon as possible. Georgia had introduced a biopsychosocial model to assess disability, developed in collaboration with the State Disability Council and organisations of persons with disabilities. Children with disabilities were included in decision-making processes for matters affecting them. An electronic register of disability status had been created. The Government was also developing a database on the beneficiaries of social benefits, which would inform social support polities. A disability information web platform was also being created to raise awareness of disability issues. Funding for social services for persons with disabilities had increased in recent years. Georgia closed its last boarding home for persons with disabilities in 2023 and was establishing small family-style institutions and developing measures to support independent living for persons with disabilities. Training courses were developed for medical practitioners and students on disability rights and communication with persons with disabilities. Around 15,000 children with disabilities were receiving a disability grant. Around 240,000 children living in low-income families also received monthly cash supports from the Government. Information on cash grants was provided in multiple languages to promote increased access for ethnic minorities. The maternity cash allowance had been doubled to 2,000 Georgian lari in 2023. Cash grants and accommodation were also provided to internally displaced families. Georgia had ratified several International Labour Organization conventions related to forced labour and minimum wages. It was working to harmonise legislation on labour with European standards. The Labour Code prohibited employment of minors in work that threatened minors’ health or safety. Inspections by labour inspectors were mandatory. Warnings or fines were issued to employers who violated children’s labour rights. Over 3,000 workplaces had been inspected in 2023, and 23 violations of children’s labour rights had been identified. Amendments had been made to the Labour Code to give inspectors additional powers to detect forced labour and trafficking in persons. Georgia was a party to various international protocols on the protection of the climate. The Government Climate Change Council was established in 2020. It coordinated climate and energy-related activities at a local level. Georgia had a policy document on nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement. It was committed to reducing its emissions and had developed various measures towards this aim. The State party was also committed to identifying the needs of children in the context of climate change and developing protection plans from severe climate events for vulnerable regions. There had recently been increased investments in the water supply system, leading to a 17 per cent expansion of the system since 2017, benefiting over 500,000 people. In 2022, the Government approved the national mental health strategy 2030. It aimed to ensure equitable access to quality mental health services, reduce stigma of people with mental health problems, train health professionals, and increase human and financial resources for the mental health system. The Government was working to promote and develop mental health services tailored to young people’s needs. Georgia also had neonatal health and maternal health strategies, and a national strategy on the elimination of HIV/AIDS. State programmes provided screening for hepatitis B and HIV for mothers and newborns. Counselling, medication and outpatient services were provided for persons with HIV/AIDS, and measures were in place to prevent transmission of HIV/AIDS among drug users. Awareness raising campaigns were in place to prevent the recruitment of children in armed conflict. It was prohibited to recruit a child in armed conflict; doing so was punishable by nine to 13 years imprisonment. In 2020, a new Defence Code was approved, which implemented conscription from age 18. Persons aged 17 could become students of the National Defence Academy, but cadets were not trained using real firearms. Violations of cadets’ rights could be reported to the dedicated monitoring body or directly to the Ministry of Defence. Lawyers worked with detained children together with social workers. Free legal services were made available to all minors in 2020. A register of interpreters was being established in the legal aid service. Interpreters were trained on communication with children. Measures were being implemented to create a child-friendly environment within legal aid bureaus. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance visited Georgia in 2022 and prepared a report on its visit. There had been some isolated cases of racism in recent years, but these usually did not involve violence. The Government was implementing the Law on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, which addressed discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. During asylum interviews, Ministry of Internal Affairs officials considered whether applicants were involved in armed conflict. Interviews conformed with international standards. No cases of child asylum seekers being involved in armed conflict had been identified thus far. Georgian case law was in line with the Convention. Courts had directly applied the Convention to resolve around 180 cases. Courts promoted the best interests of the child and guaranteed the participation of children in trials. There was no age threshold for children to testify in courts. Child witnesses had given testimony by drawing pictures on some occasions. Court procedures regarding children were inquisitorial rather than adversarial. Judges took measures to prevent secondary traumatisation of children in courts. A website had been set up to provide children with information on access to justice. Child-friendly spaces had been created in six courts. Children were exempt from court costs. A specialised complaint form for children had been developed. The Code on Juvenile Justice promoted detention of children as a last resort. There were currently only 49 children in the prison system, compared to over 200 two decades ago. There were 25,000 non-governmental organizations currently operating in Georgia. Around 97 per cent of these organisations received funding from overseas. There were cases where the Government had established organizations with political objectives, then diverted funding away from non-governmental organizations, hindering their activities. There was a need to protect children from propaganda related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. Questions by Committee Experts HYND AYOUBI IDRISSI, Committee Expert and Coordinator of the Country Taskforce for Georgia, said that the Criminal Code stated that the buying or selling of children was a form of human trafficking. The Committee’s Optional Protocol on the sale of children put forward that there was a difference between the trafficking and sale of children. The sale of children needed to be established as a separate offence. Social workers were seemingly underappreciated in the State party. How would the Government promote the value of the profession? Did the State party intend to repeal the principle of double jeopardy, which could lead to impunity? What measures were in place to prevent surrogacy from being replaced by the sale of children? Another Committee Expert asked if there were accessible programmes for vulnerable families to promote participation in early learning. There was a lack of school feeding programmes in the State party. Was the State party developing a plan for launching a nationwide school feeding programme? How did the State party ensure that the national educational policy was implemented in both public and private schools? One Committee Expert asked if there was a register of children whose parents were deprived of liberty. Would the State party conduct a survey into the prevalence of child labour? How often were prosecutors trained and was training provided externally? There had been problems occurring in Georgia in shelters run by faith-based institutions. Who supervised these shelters? A Committee Expert commended the delegation for its comprehensive answers to the Committee’s questions and the State party’s efforts to support adolescents who came into conflict with the law. It was positive that the number of young adults in detention had decreased. What programmes were in place supporting children in conflict with the law who were below the minimum age of criminal responsibility? How did the State party ensure that such children would not be detained once they reached the age of criminal responsibility? What diversion and restorative justice programmes were in place for children? Another Committee Expert said there was a problematic definition of rape in Georgia. Was this being revised? How was the State party promoting sexual and reproductive health education in schools? One Committee Expert asked what steps were being taken to register asylum seekers, refugees and internally displaced persons. What was the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in Georgia? What case-finding efforts were being made? What steps had been taken to prevent tuberculosis and to care for children affected by the disease? Responses by the Delegation The delegation said Georgia had joined an international school meal coalition in 2023. The State party was currently piloting several school meal models and developing a nationwide model. It had developed standards on hygiene requirements and training for caterers. School children would be consulted in development of the model and involved in the school meal monitoring body. A budget had been allocated to increasing teachers’ salaries this year and a new salary policy for early education teachers had been developed. Health and sexuality education was mandatory in all grade levels within Georgian schools. Education addressed gender stereotypes, sexual violence, reproductive healthcare and other issues. There was a shortage of kindergartens in rural and mountainous areas, so the State party was working on alternative early learning models for these regions. A standard on protection of students’ rights, including the rights of foreign and preschool students, had been developed. Authorisation of kindergartens was now conducted by the Government. The Government was committed to creating an inclusive education system. Around 13,000 students who had special education needs were being supported by specialist teachers and psychologists. An exam for special teachers was held for the first time in 2021. A bilingual education model was introduced in preschools in minority regions. Up to 100 bilingual schoolteachers were engaged in the programme. The State party was committed to enhancing teaching in minority languages. The State party was also implementing measures to increase internet access in schools and students’ digital competencies. Students and teachers were offered discounted internet coverage. The State party was also working to reduce waiting lists for kindergartens in rural areas and improve the quality of teaching at kindergartens. To prevent school dropouts, a monitoring and intervention mechanism was established in 2021. Schools considered individual dropout cases and deferred students to social workers as necessary. The State party was working to ensure that no student was left behind. A programme on human rights education had been developed. Teachers were also trained on human rights education and fostering a safe learning environment. Programmes were also in place supporting language education and extracurricular activities for national minorities. There was a complaints mechanism students could use to report abuse from classmates or teachers. There were 10 psychosocial service centres across the country providing timely counselling services to children. The Criminal Code criminalised the buying and selling of children without considering why the crime had been committed. Between 2017 and 2024, there were 13 cases in which crimes of buying and selling of children took place. The Government was working to create accurate policies and procedures on surrogacy to prevent abuse of children. It had made legislation on how to take children out of the country stricter. Children could stay with mothers who were in prison up to three years of age. There was also a programme allowing mothers to stay with their children outside of prisons on weekends. The State party was revising the legislative framework to put in place safeguards for children who committed crimes. The juvenile rehabilitation centre provided resocialisation programmes for child offenders who had not reached the age of criminal liability, along with support for their families. Cooperation with these families continued after the children finished the programmes. Imprisonment was a last resort for children, and restorative justice was widely applied. Birth registration was mandatory. The mobile registration service visited the homes of ethnic minority groups, internally displaced persons and refugees to support registration of children born in family homes. The mobile service delivery system provided its services in languages that ethnic minorities could understand. The State party promoted the employment of social workers. The adoption of the Law of Social Work was a huge step forward in this regard. Various initiatives, such as promotion of higher education in social work, were in place to address the shortage of social workers. Since 2020, social workers’ salaries had been doubled. Social workers were constantly involved in training for their professional development. The State provided personal guidance to each social worker. The rate of selective abortion was decreasing. The highest level was observed in 2004. Amendments had been made to legislation in this regard. Abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy was legal; after that time, they could be conducted if deemed necessary by medical specialists. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS was low in Georgia and was decreasing. Incidences of tuberculosis were also decreasing, and the Government had developed new measures of diagnosing tuberculosis. In 2020, a standard had been approved on specialisation of judges on cases involving children. The independent High School of Justice provided training to judges. Around 280 judges had specialised as child case judges. The Prosecution Training Service provided six days of training for prosecutors, and additional training for specialised prosecutors. Sixty-one training events had been carried out for over 700 participants between 2021 and 2023. International experts were involved in specialisation and follow-up training. Monitoring was conducted into the effectiveness of training. The State party had launched an inquiry into harmonisation of legislation on sexual crimes with the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence. The Parliament had initiated a package of amendments to rape legislation to broaden the definition of rape to include non-violent acts. Concluding Statements HYND AYOUBI IDRISSI, Committee Expert and Coordinator of the Country Taskforce for Georgia, said the dialogue had been extremely fruitful. Much progress had been made in Georgia, but there were problems that needed to be addressed further, including sexual violence and violence against children. Ms. Idrissi said she was certain that there would be further progress in Georgia in implementing the Convention over the next reporting period. NIKO TATULASHVILI, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Georgia on Human Rights Issues and head of the delegation, said the State party would give due regard to the Committee’s concluding observations when implementing policies and programmes. It would engage in a follow-up process with all relevant stakeholders. Mr. Tatulashvili thanked the Committee Experts for their questions and recommendations. Georgia was committed to promoting human rights and supporting the work of the Treaty Bodies system. Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the information media; not an official record. 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