The First Deputy State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Mrs. Ketevan Tsikhelashvili delivered a keynote speech at the presentation of the special report by Public Defender. The First Deputy State Minister took part into the follow-up discussion as well, after the speech of Mr. Ucha Nanuashvili.
The special report of the Public Defender deals with the rights situation of internally displaced persons and conflict-affected populations.
According to the First Deputy State Minister Mrs. Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, the chapter on the rights situation of the residents of occupied territories and its vicinities remains essential.
“The report reflects on the livehood of the people who suffer from occupation each day. We conduct intensified work on all basic challenges highlighted by the report and we take advantage from each negotiating format, including Geneva International Discussions, to reach certain solutions. The Public Defender’s report places a remarkable attention and thoroughly describes the conditions of ethnic-Georgians of Gali district in Abkhazia. The rights of these people are restricted, including their right to education into native language and freedom of movement; many questions emerge with regard to their property rights, that is the matter of our concern. We discussed these topics at 35th round of Geneva International Discussion; therefore, international community is well-informed about the violation of these rights,” – Mrs. Ketevan Tsikhelashvili declared, adding that the Government uses every possible means to alleviate the conditions of the population.
“The murder of Giga Otkhozoria on 19 May in Khurcha once again demonstrates the vulnerability of persons who move across under occupation daily, or remain unable to return to their homes as a result of the occupation. We have hundreds of thousand people like this. The aim of Georgia is to keep these issues within the agenda, before the solution. We hope that Public Defender’s report will contribute to our further efforts to raise attention of our partners on appalling life under occupation,” – the First Deputy State Minister declared.