54th IPRM Meeting Held in Gali

The 54th meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism was held in Gali, Georgia’s Russian-backed breakaway Abkhazia.

The meeting was chaired by the United Nations, with participation of the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM).

Georgia’s State Security Service (SSS) reports that particular attention during the meeting was paid to the issue of illegal detention of Georgian citizens for crossing of the so-called border. The representatives of the central Government stressed the urgent need to release the mentioned persons in the shortest period of time.

They also raised the issue of Giga Otkhozoria, who was killed by a so-called border guard on May 19, 2016 in Khurcha village on Georgian-controlled territory near the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) with breakaway region.

The EUMM encouraged all participants to continue to make full use of the Hotline and to take all possible measures to exchange information on matters pertaining to detentions and stability across the Administrative Boundary Line. 

Moreover, the EUMM stressed the importance of transparency and early warning on actions by military and security forces as well as other relevant activities in order to build confidence across the ABL.

The Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism was created in February 2009 as a result of the Geneva Discussions that followed the 2008 conflict in Georgia. The meetings are an opportunity to identify potential risks and problems facing the local community, follow up on incidents, and exchange information.

Georgian representatives at the IPRM meetings are from the State Security Service and the Reconciliation and Civil Equality Ministry of Georgia.

The next IPRM meeting will take place in Gali on 25 April. 

By Thea Morrison