I would like to cordially congratulate the whole Georgia on the Mother’s Day that is marked in Georgia since 1991 though the international celebration of the Mother’s Day has a long history. Marking of this day falls in the month of women’s history - the month of March when we remember immeasurable contribution of women in the process of democratic state-building.

Protection and support of motherhood should be the man priority in the country and society since motherhood is a very special role. In Georgia, it were mainly women who have been undertaking responsibility for caring and development of a child, and therefore mothers need special support both from the state and all of us.

Naturally, both parents and the society should equally share responsibility for raising-up and development of future generations. We should exert all efforts to provide support for mothers to receive comprehensive education, to have access to successful career advancement and to achieve economic well-being that ultimately will benefit their well-being and well-being of their families and the state.

Facts of violence identified in families studied by us reveal that in most cases victims of violence are women that are forced to get away from a violent environment together with their children, they alone fight for their safety and safety of their children and they have to overcome numerous problems in order to ultimately have opportunity to raise their children in safe environment. Our duty, as that of the state, is to understand what difficulties are faced by mothers – victims of violence and maximally enhance measures for their protection, to create conditions where they will be able to continue their lives without fear and believing in future.

It is our duty to make protection of women’s reproductive health and rights a subject of our special attention, to ensure protection of single mothers, mothers with many children and mothers below the poverty line. We should treat needs of prisoners‘ mothers and their children with special care, support mothers with children with disabilities and mothers with children with special care needs.

It is important for all of us to understand and comprehend the duty of caring for future generations. This should be an equal responsibility of both parents and the state. Only thanks to such approach we will be able to congratulate mothers in all honesty with the day such as March 3, when responsibilities will be equally shared and all of us will assume a small share of duty for care needed for raising up a future generation.

I call on state authority bodies to start relevant procedures for ratification of the International Labour Organization Convention 183 on Maternity Protection and to ensure greatest possible participation of all stakeholders in the relevant discussion process.