The First Deputy State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Mrs. Ketevan Tsikhelashvili took part into the conference to mark 20 years of The Hague Recommendations.
The First Deputy State Minister was a main speaker at the conference. Mrs. Tsikhelashvili took part into the event under personal invitation of OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Ms. Astrid Thors.
The panel discussion of the conference was dedicated to the issue of education – the impact of education on the sustainability of multi-ethnic community and how Georgia is dedicated to overcome the challenges in the area of education, in a view of teaching State Language to minorities, including in the occupied regions. The topics also covered the role of the OSCE in efficient development of The Ljubljana Guidelines and The Hague Recommendations.
The First Deputy State Minister introduced the planned and implemented activities before the audience in the area of education under the State Strategy on Civic Integration.
Mrs. Ketevan Tsikhelashvili emphasized the restriction on education into native language in her speech. The issue remains challenging in the occupied territories in the absence of international organizations and OSCE representation who are blocked from access to these regions.
“The policy of Georgian Government is to ensure equality and participation of our citizens both into political and socio-economic spheres, regardless of their ethnic background. One of our primary objectives is to promote access to the quality of education and improve State Language awareness in parallel with the knowledge of native language. We are determined to build European country based on solid, multiethnic traditions where ethnic minorities enjoy the protection of their identities and culture. Similarly, we are committed to reach out to the residents of occupied territories whose identity and self-preservation face considerable challenge through the threat of Russification under continued occupation,” – Mrs. Ketevan Tsikhelashvili declared.
The two-day conference was organized in The Hague on 20-21 April, bringing together high-level representatives of OSCE Member States, leading experts, non-governmental actors, teachers, education professionals and other local and international stakeholders.