A/HRC/45/54 provided updates on the appeal proceedings launched on behalf of the New Mosque Building Foundation in Batumi, which had been denied authorization to construct a new mosque.21 On 30 September 2019, Batumi City Court upheld part of the claim of the New Mosque Building Foundation and established that the decision by Batumi City Hall to deny the application for construction was discriminatory. The Court returned the case to Batumi City Hall for reconsideration. The latter appealed against the Court’s decision to Kutaisi Court of Appeals. On 4 December 2019, the New Mosque Building Foundation also lodged an appeal demanding that Batumi City Hall be instructed to issue a construction permit for the first stage of construction. The first hearing at Kutaisi Court of Appeals was held on 18 February 2020 and the subsequent session was postponed due to COVID-19. 28. As mentioned in the 2019 report of the High Commissioner on cooperation with Georgia, on 3 July 2018 the Constitutional Court upheld claims filed by two nongovernmental organizations that certain provisions of the Tax Code and the Law on State Property, providing exclusive tax exemptions to the Georgian Orthodox Church and enabling it to receive State property free of charge, were unconstitutional because they were discriminatory vis-à-vis other religious organizations. 22 Although the Court required its decision to be executed by 31 December 2018, Parliament had not initiated legislative amendments to implement it at the time of finalizing the present report, notwithstanding discussions on this topic by the parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Civil Integration. 29. In her annual report to Parliament for 2019,23 the Public Defender noted that no significant steps had been taken to implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The State body responsible for coordinating this process (the coordination mechanism referred to in article 33 of the Convention) has not yet been designated, nor has the Optional Protocol to the Convention been ratified. The Public Defender observed that the State was unable to ensure access by adults with disabilities to rehabilitation and that the measures taken in the field of mental health care were insufficient to protect the rights of people with mental health impairments. She added that the number and geographical coverage of community services were not adequate. The Public Defender stated that the situation had not improved concerning the realization of the right of persons with disabilities to participate in political and public life. OHCHR actively participated in the process to establish the State body responsible for coordinating the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. With the assistance of OHCHR, the Human Rights Secretariat developed a draft decree on the creation of an inter-agency commission on the rights of persons with disabilities which would serve as the coordination mechanism. The finalization of the decree was pending at the time that the present report was being concluded. The Public Defender welcomed the process of revising legislation regulating the arrangement of space for persons with disabilities and harmonizing it with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, notably with regard to amendments to the Law on Psychiatric Assistance, drafted in 2019. E. Promoting gender equality and combating domestic violence 30. OHCHR continued to support efforts by the United Nations country team to promote gender equality and combat domestic violence. 31. The Prosecutor General’s Office determined that there were 19 cases of femicide in 2019. With the support of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), the Public Defender conducted a comprehensive analysis of the gender-related killings of women that occurred from 2014 to 2018. The report, finalized in May 2020,24 documented persistent gaps in addressing cases of genderbased violence, such as deficiencies in identifying the gender motives. It emphasized the 21 22 23 24 8 A/HRC/36/65, para. 22; A/HRC/39/44, para. 25; and A/HRC/42/34, para. 23. A/HRC/42/34, para. 24. Available at http://ombudsman.ge/res/docs/2020070407523954521.pdf. Available at http://ombudsman.ge/res/docs/2020070314085774956.pdf.