The FINANCIAL — Georgian First Deputy Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani held a meeting with UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, George Okoth-Obbo.
The sides discussed the state of Internally Displaced Persons in Georgia. UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner highly appraised the Georgian government’s efforts to provide refugees with living homes. David Zalkaliani thanked the UNHCR Office for the ongoing humanitarian projects in Georgia aimed at providing assistance to people displaced from the occupied territories.
The First Deputy Foreign Minister provided George Okoth-Obbo with detailed information regarding the human rights violations in Georgia’s Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions. He spoke, in particular, about installation of barbed wire fences, restrictions on free movement, illegal detentions and kidnappings, prohibition of the native language education, ethnic discrimination. It was stressed that such discriminating policy not only makes impossible the safe and dignified return of refugees and Internally Displaced Persons to the places of their origin but also hinders the process of confidence building between the war-torn communities living on both sides of the occupation line.
The sides highlighted the importance of UNHCR’s role within the Working Group II of the Geneva International Discussions was also highlighted in this context, according to MFA of Georgia.
The sides agreed to continue close co-operation on issues of special priority to Georgia.
Discussion about this post