Public Defender appeals to Gov’t over harmful toys

The Public Defender of Georgia, Ucha Nanuashvili, addressed the Government of Georgia with a recommendation to take measures to ensure the safety of toys on the Georgian market and protect the health of minors.

He said he was informed that the Centre for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia purchased dolls of ten different brands at Georgian shops and sent them to Germany to check their safety in an accredited laboratory. According to the results received from Germany, large amounts of harmful substances were found in nine out of the ten dolls.

“Unfortunately, it is planned to bring Georgian legislation closer to the new EU Toy Safety Directive only in 2019. The Public Defender considers that, given the results of the examination carried out by the Centre for Strategic Research and Development, it is necessary that the Government takes effective measures immediately and implement the EU Toy Safety Directive before September 1 2019 in order to protect the health and safety of the minors,” Nanuashvili said.

It should be noted that the international legal acts and the national legislation impose positive and negative obligations on the state to take effective measures in order to protect the health and life of children, which may be endangered by the lack of control.

The Public Defender addressed the Government with a recommendation to respond to the results of the examination carried out by the Centre for Strategic Research and Development of Georgia, to plan measures for regulation of legislative and institutional frameworks under the Toy Safety Directive obligations before 2019 and to take effective steps for supervising the market in order to protect the minors’ rights to life and health.

The issue is of the utmost importance as it is related to the health of children. Until the government takes effective measures, it is very important that the public be informed about the possible harm of low cost and sometimes about the high cost toys.

The Government must ensure the strong control of those companies which import or make toys in Georgia and seize toys that are harmful.

Businesses must understand that making money at the expense of children’s health will be clamped down on.