GENEVA – Georgia violated its child rights obligations by failing to take immediate intervention to address the frequent physical and psychological abuse of children who lived in a close-type orphanage run by the Georgian Orthodox Church, the UN Child Rights Committee has found.
The Committee issued a Decision today after reviewing a complaint filed on behalf of 57 children residing in Ninotsminda St Nino Children’s Boarding School at the time of submission.
Of these 57 children, the individual cases of M.L. and L.K. revealed the extent of abuse and mistreatment. Born in 2008, M.L. was placed in Ninotsminda St Nino from the age of three to thirteen where she suffered harsh punishments for bedwetting. Caregivers would often instruct older children to “discipline” her and other children by hitting them with sticks or hands. She was also compelled to take psychotic medicines when she was 11. Another child, L.K., born in 2003, faced similar hardships, including inadequate food, poor hygiene, and restricted movement. Her brother, who had disabilities, also experienced neglect and abuse.