On December 3, the world celebrates the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which aims to raise public awareness of the rights of these persons.

The theme for the 2025 International Day of Persons with Disabilities is “Fostering disability-inclusive societies for advancing social progress.”

Around the world, people with disabilities and their families face obstacles in the field of social development. They often live in poverty, experience discrimination in employment, are mostly employed in the informal sector, and receive lower wages than others. Their social protection measures are insufficient, and those in the state care system have limited autonomy.

In Georgia, people with disabilities face a number of challenges. For years, the lack of state services tailored to their needs, the geographical coverage of services, and waiting lists, including for children with autism, have remained problematic. Of particular note is the lack of rehabilitation/habilitation programmes for adult people with disabilities, which negatively affects the quality of realization of their right to independent living. Due to the insufficient programmes, they are deprived of the opportunity to fully participate in public life.

The process of transitioning to the biopsychosocial model of determining disability status is delayed, and the assessment is still carried out according to the medical model, which excludes consideration of the individual needs of a person in this process.

The human rights situation of persons with mental health problems remains a challenge. For more information, see the Public Defender's statement on World Mental Health Day.

The measures taken to ensure deinstitutionalization and independent living of persons with disabilities are insufficient. Some persons with disabilities still live in large residential institutions. Housing services, with rare exceptions, fail to ensure social inclusion and prepare beneficiaries for independent living. There are frequent cases of interference in the autonomy of persons with disabilities and placement within the framework of an institutional regime, which is incompatible with deinstitutionalization goals.

The situation regarding the participation of persons with disabilities in public and political life has deteriorated. Among other issues, there is a lack of involvement of persons with disabilities/civil society organizations working on the rights of persons with disabilities in the decision-making process.

Accessibility of the environment, information or services, also remains a challenge.

The continuity of inclusive education and the subsequent realization of the right to employment, which is a necessary prerequisite for the preparation of persons with disabilities independent living, require special attention.

The three main directions of social development - poverty eradication, promotion of employment and decent work for all, and social integration, are closely interconnected and require constant support.

The Public Defender of Georgia once again calls on the relevant responsible agencies to take effective steps to promote the development of an inclusive society in the country, with the active participation of persons with disabilities in this process, which in turn, will contribute to the achievement of social progress for all members of society.