UN Special Envoy for Children’s Rights Visits Georgia

TBILISI – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, arrived in Tbilisi on Monday to take part in a week long monitoring mission following an official invitation by the Georgian government.

The Dutch-born de Boer-Buquicchio is in the Georgian capital to discuss strategies aimed at preventing the trafficking of children, underage prostitution and child pornography, as well as to make recommendations for the care and recovery of child abuse victims.

During her April 11- 18 visit, de Boer-Buquicchio will travel to Tbilisi, Rustavi and Batumi to meet with both national and local government officials, as well as members of the Public Defender’s Office, child protection NGOs and youth representatives.

“I look forward to evaluating the scope of exploitation of children in the country as well as the progress made and the challenges faced by Georgia to fight the problem,” de Boer-Buquicchio said.

She also said she plans to reach out to at-risk children and those who’ve lived as refugees or displaced people before submitting her recommendations to the government.

De Boer-Buquicchio will also visit various childcare centers and the Tserovani settlement for internally displaced people, before sharing her preliminary observations at a press conference scheduled for April 18.

A comprehensive report of de Boer-Buquicchio’s visit will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2017.

By Tamar Svanidze
Edited by Nicholas Waller