The Public Defender's Office represents a national mechanism for monitoring the promotion, protection and implementation of the Convention provided by article 33 (2) of the UN Convention (2006) on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The Consultative Council for Monitoring the Promotion, Protection and Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was set up within the framework of the abovementioned mechanism in 2015. The aim of the Council is to assist the Public Defender to effectively monitor the implementation of the Convention in compliance with the Convention principles.

The Consultative Council is composed of representatives of the Public Defender’s Office and civil society.

In September, a competition was announced for the vacant positions of the Council’s invited members.

After reviewing the submitted applications, the Public Defender selected new members of the Consultative Council for Monitoring the Promotion, Protection and Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. They are:

Marine Mamulia – a representative of the non- entrepreneurial (non-commercial)legal entity Future Starts Today; doctor by profession; civil activist; instructor of the rehabilitation of the blind and partially sighted people (education for children and adults, household and spatial orientation, integration into society); trainer and organizer in the mentioned field. Since 2010 she has been managing the rehabilitation of the blind and partially sighted people. She is an author and implementer of various projects.

Ekaterine Togonidze - a representative of the non- entrepreneurial (non-commercial)legal entity Each Tenth of Us; founder of the organization; journalist, writer and civil activist; author of social projects. She has been working on the issues of persons with disabilities since 2010 and has been cooperating with NGOs working on the mentioned issues since 2013.

An additional competition has been announced for one more vacant position of an invited member of the Council.