The Education, Science, and Youth Affairs Committee reviewed and supported the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled, presented by the Government of Georgia.

According to the presenter, Deputy Minister of Heath, Irine Tsakadze, the treaty was adopted in 2013 and has since been joined by over 90 countries.

“This treaty is an excellent legal mechanism for promoting the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). Specifically, it relates to Article 30 of the Convention, which recognizes the equal participation of persons with disabilities in cultural life. All states party to this convention are obligated to take all necessary measures to ensure that these individuals do not face barriers in accessing cultural materials”, - said Irine Tsakadze.

She explained that the essence of the presented document is that the states participating in the treaty will be responsible for designating authorized entities that are required to produce artistic and literary works in accessible formats for visually impaired persons and to ensure the availability of these works on a non-commercial basis.

“Following the ratification of the treaty, Georgia will have access to approximately 800,000 works already produced worldwide, and people abroad will have access to works produced in Georgia. This facilitates the protection of the rights of visually impaired persons, their education, awareness, the right to free personal development, and access to cultural materials”, - added Tsakadze.

She also noted that the document includes a specific provision stating that if a work in an accessible format for the visually impaired is commercially available in the local market, it will be excluded from the Marrakesh Treaty, and authorized entities will no longer be permitted to use the work for distribution to beneficiaries. As mentioned during the meeting, the necessary legislative changes for ratification have already been made to Georgian law.