On November 24-25, 2016, Nino Valikov, the chief specialist of the Department of the Rights of Person with Disabilities of the Public Defender's Office, attended an annual meeting and workshop of the Working Group on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Berlin. The meeting was organized by the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI); representatives of 14 countries participated in it. The aim of the meeting was to improve the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Representatives of the European state parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities reviewed the best practices of Article 13 of the Convention, access to justice and issues relating to the implementation; attention was focused on the development of the action plan for 2015-2017. The Public Defender's representative briefed the members of the Working Group of the practice developed by the Public Defender's Office of Georgia for the implementation of the Convention and the challenges in this field.

Judicial interpretation and practical implementation of Article 13 of the Convention, barriers faced by persons with disabilities in terms of access to justice, as well as the means and opportunities for overcoming these barriers, was discussed at the workshop.

The event was led by the member of the Council of Equality and Human Rights of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Professor Anna Lawson, the Berlin- Köpenick District Judge, Dr. Maria-Mameri Lattceli, the Director of the non-governmental umbrella organization Advocacy for Independent Living, Sigrid Arnade, and Dr. Hans Guter Haiden.