A working meeting was held at the Public Defender's Office on access to physicalenvironment for persons with disabilities on September 26, 2018. The meeting was attended by Teimuraz Boltashvili, Head of LEPL Tbilisi Architecture Service, and representatives of organizations working on the rights of persons with disabilities.

The main challenges that have been an insurmountable barrier for persons with disabilities for years and hamper the realization of their right to live independently, were discussed at the meeting.

Particular attention was paid to the incompliance of the norms of Georgia regulating spatial arrangement with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as the issues related their execution and supervision.

Future steps were planned in accordance with the circumstances identified during the discussion in order to facilitate the timely and effective resolution of the problems. The measures include elaboration of specific proposals for the responsible agencies regarding amendments to relevant normative acts.

In the nearest future, the Public Defender will publish a special report reflecting the results of the analysis of the acts regulating the arrangement of space for persons with disabilities.