Report on the State of Human Rights in Institutions for Persons with Disabilities Martkopi institution, the beneficiaries addressed the State Care Agency with a request to provide them with legal aid. Despite the aforementioned request, the State Care Agency failed to provide the beneficiaries with a lawyer’s service (the Agency did not explain the reason). In all the aforementioned cases, the State Care Agency and the Social Service Agency directly refused to provide legal protection of persons with disabilities, which practically restricted their access to justice. Public Defender of Georgia addresses the State Care Agency and the Social Service Agency with a recommendation to: Ensure the protection of the rights and freedoms of beneficiaries living in state residential institutions at all levels, including in courts, by providing them with full legal consultation and legal assistance. RESPECT FOR PRIVATE AND FAMILY LIFE The unity of the family is protected by a norm of international law – a universal agreement that the family, as a fundamental unit of the society, must be protected. Protection of the family by the state implies ensuring “the unity or reunification of families, particularly when their members are separated for political, economic or similar reasons.”129 In accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 2006130, “No person with disabilities, regardless of place of residence or living conditions, shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family, home, or correspondence or other types of communication.” In Public Defender’s special report of 2010 which dealt with monitoring of institutions for persons with disabilities, a separate chapter was devoted to the issue of protection of and respect for private and family life of beneficiaries. This report contained concrete cases in which these rights of persons with disabilities were restricted. Unfortunately, it should be noted that, according to the results of the monitoring of 2012, the situation in the institutions in this respect has deteriorated. 129 The Office of the UN High Commisisoner for Human Rights, General Comment 19 on Article 23 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 130 The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Article 22 and 23 NPM Report 2012 The majority of beneficiaries do not have a space where their right to private life is protected. Often, rooms in which they live have no locks. In connection with respect for the right to private life, the situation of beneficiaries of Public School No. 202 (with a boarding house service) calls for particularly attention. The pupils of the aforementioned school and the beneficiaries living in its boarding house belong to the category of children with vision loss or impairment. The school has an educational building in which the beneficiaries have classes. The institution also has an accommodation building in which the beneficiaries spend a considerable part of their life and which, in fact, constitutes their residence. At the time of the monitoring, a member of the preventive group saw a mandaturi (supervision officer) of the school in the beneficiaries’ accommodation building where their bedrooms are located. As a result of an interview with the mandaturi, it turned out that the mandaturi is authorized to keep public order not only in the school, but also in the accommodation building for the children. In connection with this issue, the headmaster of the school explained that the mandaturi’s authorities and obligations also extend to the accommodation building of the boarding house and they include supervision on the living environment. However, this explanation contradicts the authorities of the mandaturi of an educational institution determined by Article 483 of the Law of Georgia “on General Education”; Specifically, in accordance with Paragraph 1 of this article, “A mandaturi shall be authorized to control the internal and external perimeters of an educational institution,” which, naturally, does not mean control of private space designated for living.