2019-03-01
A strategic document on violence against children will be developed fully to reflect existing challenges and ways to overcome them. This decision was made during the 4th Meeting of the Interagency Commission for the Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Children's Rights. The meeting at the Administration of Government was chaired by Head of the Human Rights Secretariat of the Administration of the Government of Georgia Natalia Jaliashvili and Deputy Foreign Minister Khatuna Totladze.
The meeting discussed steps taken toward strengthening the system for protecting children from violence. Special emphasis was placed on the development of the multidisciplinary model for interrogating underage victims of sexual violence. The meeting made a decision to create a working group in charge of developing a basis for said model. In this process, the commission will enjoy technical assistance from UNICEF.
The meeting's participants also discussed the implementation of the Law of Georgia on Early and Preschool Education. Special emphasis was placed on the technical regulations for the buildings/facilities, infrastructure, and material and technical resources of early and preschool educational institutions, these regulations to be approved by the Government of Georgia. Relevant information on the regulations was provided to the meeting by a representative of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development. According to the meeting's decision, this document will be referred for approval to the Government of Georgia by the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development next week, followed by the adoption of rules for authorization of relevant institutions.
The meeting also discussed the technical support from UNICEF to ensure the commission's capacity-building, along with implemented and planned measures to this end.
The participants of the meeting of the Interagency Commission included representatives of executive, legislative, and judiciary, along with international organizations, and representatives of the Office of the Public Defender and the Legal Aid Service.
The Interagency Commission was established in December 2016, on the recommendation of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and UNICEF, with the key purpose of coordinating the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child at the national level.