11.12.2007 - Source: ReliefWeb

Press release of Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement regarding legal aspects of internally displaced persons and refugees in Abkhazia, Georgia ("Legal aspects of return of internally displaced persons and refugees to Abkhazia, Georgia"), Autor: Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement [ID 21856]

Document(s): Open document

11.10.2007 - Source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (formerly Global IDP Project)

The risk to IDP children’s security is due to lawlessness and the blurred distinction between Abkhazian officials and ‘bandits’; young people have also been subjected to forced labour ("New IDP strategy awaits implementation; a profile of the internal displacement situation") [ID 21475]

"

UNICEF/NRC, October 2006:

“The risk to IDP children’s security during the summer harvest is largely due to lawlessness and the blurred distinction between Abkhazian officials and ‘bandits.’ Many interviewees reported that people are sometimes rounded up by armed men and forced to work without pay. Young people have also been subjected to this forced labor which is more prevalent during the lucrative nut harvest period when IDP children are returning to help their families. This labor exploitation is also manifest in the large portion of the harvest young people report being forced to surrender as tax, without compensation.” "

Document(s): Report

06.2007 - Source: Freedom House

Most of the internally displaced persons are unable or unwilling to return because they fear for their safety ("Freedom in the World 2007") [ID 20543]

"Travel and choice of residence are limited by the ongoing separatist dispute. Approximately 200,000 ethnic Georgians who fled Abkhazia during the early 1990s are living in western Georgia, primarily in the Zugdidi district bordering Abkhazia. Most of these internally displaced persons are unable or unwilling to return because they fear for their safety. As much as 85 percent of the Abkhaz population holds Russian passports and receive social benefits as Russian citizens."

Document(s): Open document

18.01.2007 - Source: International Crisis Group

IDP’s access to housing, land, jobs, social services and healthcare is inadequate; numbers of the displaced are disputed; Georgian ministry of refugees registered 209, 013 displaced from Abkhazia in 2005 ("Abkhazia: Ways Forward; Europe Report N°179 – 18 January 2007") [ID 18835]

"For Georgia, the most important conflict resolution task after status is the return of IDPs and refugees to Abkhazia. Most IDPs seem committed to return to their pre-war homes. They are among Georgia’s poorest and most vulnerable, with inadequate access to housing, land, jobs, social services and healthcare. Until recently the government did little to help with integration but in December 2006 it presented a draft national strategy for IDPs, which it pledged to carry out with an accompanying action plan. The latter acknowledges that IDP integration should be assisted without prejudice to the right of return. However, IDPs in general continue to be poorly represented in governmental bodies, political parties, the media and NGOs.[…]  

The numbers of the displaced are disputed. The 1989 Soviet census put the ethnic Georgian population of Abkhazia at 239,872. Almost all were forced to leave in 1993. In 2005, the Georgian ministry of refugees and accommodation, with UNHCR support, registered 209,013 displaced from Abkhazia, which includes some of the approximately 45,000 Gali returnees who wish to maintain their IDP status and the meagre benefits it provides. Ministry staff no longer stands by the 2005 figures and say the real number is 247,612.182 Abkhaz call this inflated and say there are no more than 160,000 displaced from Abkhazia currently in Georgia. "

Document(s): Open document

28.09.2006 - Source: UN Security Council

Abkhaz courst have rejected restitution claims for returnees ("Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia [S/2006/771]") [ID 17590]

"25. In implementing a de facto Parliamentary decree adopted in May 2006, the Abkhaz courts rejected new claims filed by owners who had abandoned their property since 1992 as the result of forced displacement caused by armed conflict and violence. The courts declared such claims inadmissible and discontinued ongoing procedures following judgements in favour of property restitution. This discriminatory practice could hamper the return and reintegration of displaced persons."

Document(s): Open document

24.03.2006 - Source: UN Human Rights Council (formerly UN Commission on Human Rights)

Abkhaz Law on Citizenship discriminates against people with non-Abkhaz origin, including Georgian returnees; in order to get Abkhaz citizenship returnees are obliged to give up their Georgian citizenship, whereas they have right to obtain citizenship of Russian Federation ("Report of the Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons; mission to Georgia, Addendum [E/CN.4/2006/71/Add.7]") [ID 17115]

"The “Law of the Republic of Abkhazia on Citizenship of the Republic of Abkhazia” of October 2005 potentially creates important difficulties and administrative hurdles for returnees who do not want to accept Abkhaz citizenship even if it were not imposed on them and has no international significance. Certain parts of the “law” contain provisions discriminating against persons of non-Abkhaz origin, including Georgian returnees. For example, the “law” makes the granting of citizenship conditional upon residence on the territory of Abkhazia during a period coinciding with the time closely after open hostilities had ceased, which was when many Georgians had fled the region.Its article 6 restricts the possibility of acquiring or maintaining dual citizenship to persons of Abkhaz ethnicity, while non-Abkhaz “citizens” “have a right to obtain citizenship of the Russian Federation only”,thus clearly excluding the option of returnees to the Gali district to keep their Georgian passport when acquiring Abkhaz “citizenship”. [...] According to their diverging views, consequences for non-Abkhaz citizens would range from an exclusion from the right to vote and the obligation to perform military service, over the possible non-acknowledgement of their legal identity by administrative authorities, to their treatment as foreigners including the possibility of expulsion. The law may also be seen as creating a hostile atmosphere towards returnees and thus constitute a psychological obstacle to return."

Document(s): Open document

07.03.2006 - Source: Civil Georgia

Minister for Refugees Giorgi Kheviashvili announces registration of property owned by Georgian internally displaced persons in Abkhazia and South Ossetia; he calls on leadership of breakaway regions to cooperate in process ("Tbilisi Registers IDPs’ Property in Abkhazia, South Ossetia") [#46274],  [ID 5640]

Document(s): Open document

06.02.2006 - Source: Council of Europe - Parliamentary Assembly

224,938 persons from Abkhazia, all of them Georgians, are displaced in Georgia; negotiations take place on deployment of United Nations civilian police force which would safeguard security in Gali region, so that displaced persons might return ("Refugees and displaced persons in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia [Doc. 10835]") [#43664],  [ID 5641]

"According to statistics gathered during the visit to Georgia, this figure includes 224,938 persons from Abkhazia alone, who are unevenly distributed between the regions of Georgia, with a very strong presence in the Tbilisi and Samegrelo (Mingrelia) areas. [...] The Georgian legislation in force since 1998 does not take account of citizenship in determining a displaced person’s status. Any person forced to leave his or her home for a number of reasons and who moves within the territory of the country is eligible for displaced person status, granted by the Ministry of Refugees and Settlement. The persons displaced by the conflict in Abkhazia are Georgians, there are no displaced persons of Abkhaz origin; the Abkhaz nevertheless are still a minority within the territory of Abkhazia. [...]
Pressure must also be exerted by European countries to ensure that the conditions are met for displaced persons to return first of all to Gali, beyond the Inguri river, which marks the boundary with the former autonomous Republic of Abkhazia. Declarations had been made to this effect in 1999, but without security being guaranteed in the field, and they were recently renewed despite the fact that the situation has hardly changed from this point of view25. Negotiations are in progress with a view to the deployment of a United Nations civilian police force (CIVPOL)."

Document(s): Open document

10.01.2006 - Source: Civil Georgia

Abkhazia: Foreign Minister confirms that Georgians living in the Gali district will face no problems if they refuse to take Abkhaz passports, but will be deprived of their right to vote ("Abkhaz Official Comments on Gali, IDPs") [#42143],  [ID 5642]

Document(s): Open document

10.01.2006 - Source: ReliefWeb

According to Abkhazian foreign minister Georgians living in Gali district will face no problems if they refuse Abkhaz passports; return of Georgian IDPs to other parts of Abkhazia would trigger renewal of violence and ethnic conflicts ("Georgia: Abkhaz official comments on Gali, IDPs (United Nations Association of Georgia)") [#41560],  [ID 5643]

Document(s): Open document

31.12.2005 - Source: ReliefWeb

Although the Representative of UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons was pleased that numbers of persons were able to return to Gali district, he expressed concerns about unsustainability of those returns ("Georgia: Humanitarian and development update Dec 2005 (UN Country Team in Georgia)") [#42042],  [ID 5644]

"The Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, Mr. Walter Kälin completed an official mission to Georgia which took place from 21 to 24 December 2005 […] Regarding returns to Abkhazia, the Representative was pleased that substantial numbers of persons have been able to return to the Gali district. He was, however, concerned that many of those returns had not been sustainable, largely due to the absence of law enforcement as well as basic infrastructure and services. He also noted that the large majority of those who had to flee Abkhazia still remained in displacement.
He expressed his concerns about acts of violence in the Gali district, which constitute a major obstacle to further returns and urged the Abkhaz authorities to do everything in their power to prevent and punish human rights violations. Admission of UN civilian police and a permanent human rights office in Gali was assured by Sukhumi. He further appealed to the Abkhaz authorities to refrain from measures incompatible with the right to return and relevant international and European human rights standards, such as imposing citizenship on returnees, and restricting the use of the Georgian language in schools."

Document(s): Open document

28.12.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Abkhazia: UN called on authorities to protect rights of internally displaced ethnic Georgians who fled Abkhazia and want to return there ("UN Urges Abkhaz Authorities To Protect Ethnic Georgians") [#41015],  [ID 5645]

Document(s): Open document

21.12.2005 - Source: Civil Georgia

Georgia has roughly 300,000 internally displaced persons both from Abkhazia and South Ossetia ("UN Envoy for IDPs Rights Visits Georgia") [#41813],  [ID 5646]

Document(s): Open document

19.10.2005 - Source: UN Security Council

Abkhazia: Sochi working group discussed the return of internally displaced persons and refugees; according to Georgia`s Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation number of internally displaced persons fell from 241,032 in November 2004 to 214,018 in June 2005 ("Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia [S/2005/657]") [#38393],  [ID 5647]

For details please refer to the original document

"9. [...] at UNOMIG sector headquarters in Gali the Mission helped to arrange two expert-level meetings in Tbilisi and Sukhumi, on 11 and 19 July, respectively, to discuss further the modalities of the technical survey of the Psou-Inguri section of the railway. [...] However, contrary to what had been agreed, Georgian experts were not able to join as the Abkhaz side denied clearance for their participation on the ground that some of them were internally displaced persons. [...]

11. The resolution of the question of the composition of the expert group for the railroad survey paved the way for the meeting of the Sochi working group on the return of internally displaced persons and refugees that took place in Sochi on 6 and 7 October under the chairmanship of the Russian Federation and with the participation of my Special Representative and UNHCR. At the meeting the parties endorsed, in principle, the UNHCR approach to the return of refugees and internally displaced persons and its planned activities for the next two years. They also discussed modalities of the envisaged registration of the returnees in the Gali distrikt as well as the issue of language of instruction in the schools there.

12. Between December 2004 and June 2005, the Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation of Georgia, with financial and technical support from UNHCR, verified the number of internally displaced persons in Georgia. According to the results, which were made public on 25 August, the number of internally displaced persons in Georgia had decreased since November 2004 from 241,032 to 214,018, with 201,634 of them being from Abkhazia, Georgia."

Document(s): Open document

10.2005 - Source: UK Home Office

Approximately 230,000 IDPs from Abkhazia and 12,200 from South Ossetia pose threat to national stability ("Operation Guidance Note: Georgia") [#39388],  [ID 5648]

"3.6.4 The internal conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia remain unresolved and although ceasefires were in effect in both areas, sporadic incidents of violence occurred in Abkhazia, the neighbouring region of Samegrelo, and South Ossetia. These conflicts and the problems associated with approximately 230,000 IDPs from Abkhazia, 12,200 from South Ossetia, and 2,600 refugees from Chechnya pose a continued threat to national stability. In spite of these considerable numbers of IDPs from the separatist regions, there is no evidence that ordinary South Ossetians or Abkhazians are discriminated against or ill-treated by either state or non-state agents in other regions of Georgia."

Document(s): Open document

08.2005 - Source: Freedom House

Abkhazia: Travel and choice of residence are limited; most of internally displaced Georgians are unable or unwilling to return due to safety reasons ("Freedom in the World 2005") [#41618],  [ID 5649]

"Travel and choice of residence are limited by the ongoing conflict. Approximately 200,000 ethnic Georgians who fled Abkhazia during the early 1990s are living in western Georgia, most in the Zugdidi district bordering Abkhazia. Most of these internally displaced persons are unable or unwilling to return because of fears for their safety."

Document(s): Open document

17.06.2005 - Source: International Committee of the Red Cross

Many families are still without news of relatives who went missing in 1992-1993 armed conflict ("ICRC annual report 2004") [#34928],  [ID 5650]

"Civilians
Encouraging dialogue on the issue of missing persons

Many families were still without news of some 2,000 relatives who went missing during the 1992-93 armed conflict in Abkhazia, and around 100 who went missing in South Ossetia.
[...]"

Document(s): Open document

25.04.2005 - Source: Refugees International

Report focused on internally displaced persons from Abkhazia (historical background, humanitarian conditions) ("Forgotten People: Internally Displaced from Abkhazia") [#31654],  [ID 5651]

Document(s): Open document

27.05.2004 - Source: EurasiaNet

Abkhazia: New peace plan for the separatist region envisions the creation of a Georgian federation, in which Abkhazia would retain broad autonomy and encourages repatriation of app. 260,000 IDPs ("Abkhazia Federation Blueprint Unveiled In Georgia") [#22502],  [ID 5652]

Document(s): Open document

20.01.2004 - Source: ReliefWeb

Abkhazia: Report on the politicial, social and security situation as well as on the situation of returnees ("Abkhazia briefing note Jan 2004 (UN OCHA)") [#19308],  [ID 5653]

"UNHCR's involvement in a sizeable reintegration programme for returnees in the Security Zone remains dependent on tangible progress in the UN-led peace-process and on reaching concrete agreements between all parties concerned on return of the displaced persons to their original homes. In view of the above, the focus of its programme activities in Abkhazia is the school rehabilitation project, which was initiated in the Gali District in 2001 and then extended to other districts of Abkhazia in 2002 while still covering most acute needs in Gali, and continued on a smaller scale in 2003. UNHCR participated in several discussions in various working groups in order to enhance this IDP returnee process within the Coordinating Council process as well as within the bilateral process (between Georgia and Abkhaz) known as the "Sochi follow-up"."

Document(s): Open document

03.09.2003 - Source: Civil Georgia

Georgian Foreign Ministry does not agree with First Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Valerie Loshchinin, who said that the problem of the return of IDPs to breakaway Abkhazia has been settled ("Georgia Dismisses Russia’s Claims over Return of IDPs to Abkhazia") [#15656],  [ID 5654]

Document(s): Open document

04.08.2003 - Source: ReliefWeb

Discussion of measures to expedite the return of Georgian displaced persons to Abkhazia ("Georgia, Russia discuss repatriation to Abkhazia (RFE/RL)") [#15090],  [ID 5655]

"Russian and Georgian government working groups met in Tbilisi on 31 July to discuss measures to expedite the return of Georgian displaced persons to Abkhazia in line with an agreement reached during talks in Sochi in March between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Georgian counterpart Eduard Shevardnadze, Caucasus Press reported. The Georgian delegation again called for the creation of a temporary international administration under UN auspices in Gali Raion, the pre-war population of which was predominantly Georgian. In Sukhum, Abkhaz Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba proposed on 1 August compiling a precise register of the Georgians eligible for repatriation, rejecting as "fantasy" Georgian claims that the displaced persons number 300,000, Caucasus Pres reported. Shamba also argued that in order to stabilize the situation in Gali, Tbilisi should take action to neutralize Georgian guerrilla formations operating in the district who, Shamba argued, pose a threat to the safety of Georgians who wish to return there."

Document(s): Open document

08.2003 - Source: Human Rights Centre

Political guarantees that refugees should have after their return to Abkhazia ("Monthly Bulletin No 8 (54), August 2003") [#15124],  [ID 5656]

"Zaza Gogsadze, Envoy of the Georgian Foreign Affairs Ministry, took part in the second meeting held in Geneva two weeks ago lead by the high-ranking officials from the group of Friends and the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative, HE Heidi Tagliavini. Representatives of both Georgia and Abkhazia participated in the meeting.

“At the meeting with UN representatives, the Georgian side discussed the political guarantees that refugees should have after their return to Abkhazia. At the meeting Special Representative of UN Secretary General was ordered to study the case of security in the Abkhazian region,” reported Zaza Gogsadze."

Document(s): Open document

31.03.2003 - Source: US Department of State

In January 1999, the Abkhaz separatist regime unilaterally invited IDPs to return to Gali starting in March 1999 but did not adequately ensure their safe ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2002") [#11848],  [ID 5657]

"The 1994 agreement between Russia, Georgia, Abkhazia, and the UNHCR on repatriation in Abkhazia called for the free, safe, and dignified return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees. The Abkhaz separatist regime prevented such repatriation and unilaterally abrogated the agreement. In January 1999, the Abkhaz separatist regime unilaterally invited IDPs to return to Gali starting in March 1999 but did not adequately ensure their safety. The move did not affect significantly the return to Gali of IDPs, who continued to travel back and forth to the area to tend their property. As many as 40,000 persons were estimated to be living in Gali on a more or less permanent basis, depending on the security situation."

Document(s): Open document

14.08.2002 - Source:

IWPR: Only 40,000 ethnic Georgians are living now in Abkhazia ("14/08/2002 - IWPR: Georgian-Abkhaz Truce Barely Holds") [ID 5658]

"Almost half of the pre-war population of Abkhazia – around 250,000 people – was ethnically Georgian. Only around 40,000 Georgians are living there now, all in the southern Gali region, where there are Russian peacekeepers and UN monitors. Opinion polls suggest that the rest do not believe they will see their homes any time soon.

“Every refugee has an unshakeable right, underpinned by international norms: the right to return home,” Heidi Tagliavini, UN special envoy for the dispute, told IWPR. “But enforcing that right is a difficult process.”

Tagliavini said that steps are being taken to ensure the security of those people wanting to return to the Gali region."

Document(s): 14/08/2002 - IWPR: Georgian-Abkhaz Truce Barely Holds

14.08.2002 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

IWPR: More than 200,000 Georgian refugees from Abkhazia remember a tragic past and anticipate an uncertain future ("Georgian Refugees: Ten Years from Home") [#10565],  [ID 5659]

"Marina now lives outside the Georgian capital in the Hotel Kartli, a once fashionable but now completely rundown and defaced building on the shore of the artificial lake known as the Sea of Tbilisi.

She shares this fate with more than 1500 families from the first wave of Georgian refugees – formally they are internally displaced persons or IDPs – from Abkhazia. And although the big hotel complex is only around ten kilometres from the city centre, it is as though these people are entirely cut off from the outside world.

The only state help the refugees receive is a benefit of 11 laris (around five US dollars) a month, while some get another 14 laris (seven dollars) as a pension for the loss of the main breadwinner. [...]
With the defeat of their army in 1993, practically all Georgians in Abkhazia, comprising some 47 per cent of the total population of 500,000 people, fled. The bulk of this vast human tide poured into Georgia. Since then, a large refugee population has become a fact of Georgia’s everyday political life.

Ordinary Georgians have a complex attitude towards the displaced people. On the one hand, they feel sympathy towards those who have lost both their past and their future. However, the refugees are also competitors for the few available jobs, in agricultural regions they lay claim to farmland and in the cities they move into empty buildings from where it is impossible to evict them. [...]
There are also complaints that the arrival of the refugees has caused the crime-rate to soar, although this is not confirmed by statistics. In the first half of 2002, only 0.2 per cent of crimes in Georgia were committed by IDPs.

For their part, the refugees complain that lack of work has forced professors, engineers and teachers to earn a living by working as porters hauling sacks at the bazaar. [...]
After Tbilisi, the second highest concentration of refugees is in the Zugdidi region, just south of Abkhazia. In several villages there the number of refugees exceeds the number of local inhabitants."

Document(s): Open document

04.06.2002 - Source: Council of Europe - Parliamentary Assembly

Council of Europe: Return of refugees from Abkhazia ("Situation of refugees and displaced persons in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia [Doc. 9480]") [#7836],  [ID 5660]

"76. For those willing to return, prospects are not clear. Political dialogue between the Abkhaz authorities and the Georgian Government under the auspices of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General has not resulted in any agreement between the two parties regarding the future status of Abkhasia within Georgia. The 1999 Act of Independence has made the possible solution even more illusory.

77. The Abkhaz authorities however have tolerated the return of ethnic Georgians to the Gali district since 1999. Between 30 000 and 60 000 persons have returned to their homes mainly on a seasonal basis and are commuting with the place of displacement in Georgian controlled area after the harvest. These people complain that they receive no help to reconstruct their houses. It seems that many of them would be able to do on their own if they received construction materials.

78. However, the main obstacle to durable returns is the lack of security in the Gali district, mainly as a result of banditry and confrontations between Abkhaz forces and uncontrolled Georgian groups. Displaced persons remember that the violence which broke out in 1998 resulted in the renewed displacement of some 30 000 returnees. Tensions have risen again recently in the security zone between Abkhazia and Georgia when a helicopter carrying UN monitors was shot down in October 2001. There were also new reports on shelling of villages on both sides. The international forces composed of Russian soldiers are perceived by the displaced population as partial and hostile towards returnees.

79. Antipersonnel mines are another major concern. The majority of landmines are located near the Inguri river separating Georgia and Abkhazia. Outside Abkhazia, mines pose dangers to civilians in Georgia mainly in areas near the border with Abkhazia and near Russian military bases which have been mined. There continue to be reports of armed groups from Georgia laying antipersonnel mines in the Abkhazia region.

80. Another problem concerns the use of the Georgian language in Gali district schools. However, the authorities have recently shown some signs of flexibility regarding the matter."

Document(s): Open document

05.03.2002 - Source: Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe

SFH: No return of internally displaced persons to Abkhazia ("Lageanalyse Februar 2002") [#8057],  [ID 5661]

"Trotz Bemühungen u.a. der UNO und OSZE findet nur eine minimale Annäherung der
Standpunkte (in Sachen zukünftiger Status Abchasiens, Verbesserung der Sicherheitslage,
Rückkehr von Vertriebenen etc.) statt. Mit einer baldigen, definitiven Heimkehr der IDPs ist
nicht zu rechnen. In den letzten Jahren haben mehrmals vereinzelte Rückkehrversuche
nach Abchasien stattgefunden, aber der grösste Teil der Beteiligten hat seine Heimat erneut
verlassen. Als die abchasischen Behörden im Bezirk Gali in der Frage des Gebrauchs
der georgischen Sprache in der Schule ein gewisses Entgegenkommen zeigten, kehrten
nach Schätzungen des UNHCR etwa 40‘000 Flüchtlinge – allerdings ohne von der Liste der
IDPs gelöscht worden zu sein – zurück.
Die weiterhin hohe Kriminalität (insbesondere Raub, Überfälle, Entführungen) – mit stillschweigender
Duldung der lokalen Behörden – in Abchasien und die damit zusammenhängende
Unsicherheit, die grosse Zahl der zerstörten Häuser, die in vielen Fällen ungeklärten
Eigentumsfragen, Minen etc. sind weitere wesentliche Hindernisse für eine definitive Rückkehr.
Eine endgültige Lösung des Problems der "Internally Displaced Persons" ist kaum vor der
Regelung des zukünftigen Status von Abchasien zu erwarten."

Document(s): Open document

13.09.2001 - Source: Council of Europe - Parliamentary Assembly

Council of Europe: Ethnic cleansing resulted in the displacement of approximately 250 000 ethnic Georgians ("Honouring of obligations and commitments by Georgia [Doc. 9191]") [#10653],  [ID 5663]

"34. The helicopter flight from Senaki (Western Georgia) to Sukhumi allowed us to see the enormous number of roofless houses bearing witness of a conflict which, regardless of the responsibility for its origin, led to an ethnic cleansing resulting in the displacement of approximately 250 000 ethnic Georgians (out of a total pre-war population in Abkhazia of approximately 525 000 people)."

Document(s): Open document

13.09.2001 - Source: Council of Europe - Parliamentary Assembly

Council of Europe: Abkhazi fear that Georgian IDPs would return and claim their houses, now occupied by Abkhazi ("Honouring of obligations and commitments by Georgia [Doc. 9191]") [#10653],  [ID 5664]

"A reason for their reluctance to reach agreement with the Georgian central government was apparently their fear that Georgian IDPs would return to Akhazia, and claim their houses, now occupied by Abkhazi."

Document(s): Open document

13.09.2001 - Source: Council of Europe - Parliamentary Assembly

Living conditions of IDPs from South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Tbilisi ("Honouring of obligations and commitments by Georgia [Doc. 9191]") [#10653],  [ID 5665]

"156. During our second visit to Georgia, in November 2000, we visited IDPs from South Ossetia accommodated in the Abkhazi Hotel and IDPS from Abkhazia accommodated in the Iberia Hotel in Tbilisi. Their living conditions are difficult to describe: a whole family and often three generations have to live together in very small rooms. This situation has been the same for seven years with no perspectives of improvement in the near future. We share the impressions of the Council of Europe Commissioner on Human Rights, which were also confirmed by hints from Georgian officials, that IDPs have become hostages of the situation, in the sense that Georgia is concerned that improving the living conditions and human rights of the IDPs might lead to a decrease of the international pressure on the Abkhazi people, acceptance of the present status and, finally, the loss of the opportunity for the IDPs to return home."

Document(s): Open document

01.12.2000 - Source: Danish Immigration Service

Danish Immigration Service: Poor economic conditions could prevent IDPs from returning ("Report on roving attaché mission to Georgia") [#6081],  [ID 5662]

"The UNHCR believe that a total of 300 000 people fled as a result of the conflict. Many of these have settled in Georgia , where they are registered as internally displaced persons. They have full Georgian citizens' rights, may work and study, etc., and have Georgian documents. According to the OSCE internally displaced persons may not buy land but may buy housing. As they are regarded as belonging in Abkhazia, they are unable to participate in local elections in Georgia. The UNHCR mentioned that there was high unemployment amongst internally displaced persons, but that unemployment was high in the country generally.

As regards the repatriation of the internally displaced persons, according to the Foreign Minister Abkhazia has put forward a negotiating package as part of the peace negotiations which includes the question of repatriation. He says that the question of repatriation is a particularly difficult one in the negotiations, and that the parties have not been able to agree, which has meant that organised repatriation has not been able to take place. One international source which wished to remain anonymous on this matter explained that the problem was that if all the internally displaced Georgians are offered the opportunity to return, Georgians will once again be the ethnic majority, which is opposed by Abkhazia. However, the Foreign Minister estimated that about 60 000 Georgians had returned to the area spontaneously. The UNHCR, OSCE and Norwegian Refugee Council confirmed that a large number, around 40 to 50 000, had returned of their own accord. The Norwegian Refugee Council added that spontaneous return had taken place in recent years, and that there had also been many "commuters" e.g. in connection with the harvest; but it was a new phenomenon that families were also now returning with their children, which the Council regarded as a sign of a permanent return. The Council added that many schools had opened in the area.

The Foreign Minister felt that Georgia was making political use of the question of repatriation, that the internally displaced persons were being kept in a state of mobilisation, and that Georgians who returned were accused by the Georgian press of being renegades. The OSCE agreed that there was no doubt that the internally displaced persons were being used politically, but particularly by the Abkhazian government in exile. However, the OSCE also thought that, besides the return of 60 000 Georgians, a large number of the internally displaced had also emigrated in the intervening years to Russia and other CIS countries, that the number of internally displaced persons in Georgia itself had fallen substantially, and with it the basis on which the government in exile built its policies and justified its existence.

The Centre for Human Rights and Support for Democracy thought that the poor economic situation could prevent Georgians returning. Another obstacle was the danger of revenge on those Georgians who had taken part in the war. The organisation believed that if matters had to be settled this should take place legally through the courts. It added that Abkhazia had changed and was no longer the Abkhazia which the Georgians had lived in previously."

Document(s): Open document