On May 20-24, 2024, Tamar Gvaramadze, First Deputy Public Defender of Georgia, and Mariam Tavdgiridze, Head of the Division of International Relations, participated in the 14^th Session of the UN Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing (OEWGA) in New York (USA).

Within the framework of the session, on May 22, Tamar Gvaramadze presented a report at the high-level panel discussion regarding the challenges in Georgia in terms of access to infrastructure, housing and various services for older people. On May 24, the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia, together with the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) and other partners, hosted an event - "Bridging the Gap: National Human Rights Institutions Protecting and Upholding Older Persons’ Rights". The event was co-sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Georgia to the United Nations. At the event, Tamar Gvaramadze spoke about the role and activities of the Public Defender's Office in the direction of protecting the rights of older people, both nationally and internationally; She focused on the working methods and approaches of the Office, as well as the main challenges identified by the Office, such as homelessness, poverty, social isolation, discrimination, inadequate state programmes and violence. Tamar Gvaramadze emphasized the role of national human rights institutions and the importance of their work for the protection and strengthening of the rights of older people. She also spoke about the need to adopt the UN convention on the rights of older people to ensure decent living conditions for them.

On May 24, Mariam Tavdgiridze, Head of the Division of International Relations of the Public Defender’s Office, presented a joint statement on behalf of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) within the framework of the session, during which she spoke about the need to develop and adopt a new UN convention on the rights of older people and called on member states to take appropriate steps.

Protection and promotion of the rights of older people are one of the important directions of the Public Defender’s Office. The Public Defender reports on the situation of the rights of older people in the country in a parliamentary report every year, and also periodically monitors the institutions of older people and presents the relevant results in special reports. At the same time, the Public Defender’s Office actively participates in international and regional events; The Office is a member of GANHRI Working Group on the Rights of Older Persons, and co-founder and co-chair of the ENNHRI Working Group on the Rights of Older Persons in the European region.