Charged by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers with a bi-annual update on the situation in Georgia, Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić published her report for the period November 2022-March 2023 on Wednesday 19 April.
The drafting of these reports (27 to date) was introduced in 2010 following the August 2008 armed conflict between the Russian Federation and Georgia.
They are intended to propose actions appropriate to the situation and provide an update on the human rights situation in the conflict-affected areas of Abkhazia and South Ossetia that remain under Georgian control.
On fundamental rights, the Secretary General has “serious concerns”.
There is “little progress” and “various restrictions on freedom of movement and access to education and healthcare remain of serious concern, including in terms of their impact on vulnerable groups”.
While Ms Pejčinović denounced “the continuous impediments by the Russian Federation to peaceful conflict resolution, security, and stability in the wider region”, she “welcomed”, on the other hand, “Georgia’s continuous efforts and initiatives to promote dialogue and reconciliation, and their provision of free access to health care, education, and other social benefits for all residents of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia“.
“Efforts to address the needs of internally displaced persons” are also mentioned, as well as the continued collaboration – on both sides of the Administrative Boundary Line – between archive specialists and psychologists specialised in war trauma and on the prevention of gender-based violence.
Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/6ex (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)