On July 28, 2017, the Public Defender of Georgia held another public debate in the city of Gori on the topic: “Investigation of Crimes Committed during 2008 War and Security Challenges”. The aim of the meeting was to provide information to the attendees about the investigation being carried out by the International Criminal Court into the crimes committed during the 2008 war. Local NGOs, community activists, residents of the villages located along the dividing line, IDPs and representatives of local authorities participated in the meeting.

At the meeting, First Deputy Public Defender Natia Katsitadze spoke about the role of the International Criminal Court and its investigation into the alleged military crimes and crimes committed against humanity during the 2008 armed conflict. She also noted that the Public Defender monitors the investigation at the national level and focuses specifically on the security issues facing the conflict-affected population.

Beka Dzamashvili, Head of the Department of State Representation of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia to the International Courts, spoke about the steps taken by the Georgian authorities in terms of the investigation and the format of cooperation with the International Criminal Court. He noted that the international investigation and its results will be important not only from legal but also political point of view for Georgia, and therefore consolidation of the entire society is needed to assist the investigation.

Tamar Avaliani, representative of the Human Rights Center and Nika Jeiranashvili, ICC Program Manager of the Open Society – Georgia Foundation, focused on the challenges that may emerge in the process of the investigation and underlined the significance of the rights and safety of victims and witnesses in this process.

The public debate of the Public Defender of Georgia is organized by the European Union project "Support to the Public Defender's Office II", during which, important human rights issues are discussed.