On June 14, 2018, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the occupied territories of Georgia, which, together with political and security issues, reviewes the human rights situation in the occupied territories. In the resolution, the European Parliament calls on the Russian Federation, as an occupying country, to stop human rights violations in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region, including ethnic discrimination of the Georgian population and ensure justice in the ethnicity motivated cases, especially in the cases of Georgian citizens -Archil Tatunashvili, Giga Otkhozoria and Davit Basharuli.

The Public Defender of Georgia welcomes and fully agrees with the resolution of the European Parliament. The Public Defender has prepared a number of proposals, public statements and special reports on the human rights situation in the occupied territories and regularly provides oral or written information about this topic to the international organizations and partners.

Taking into consideration the existent difficult situation, the Public Defender considers that the Government of Georgia should expand and make more available the state programs intended for conflict-affected persons. In addition, these programs should cover the spheres of education and health care, as well as social protection and economic assistance initiatives.

The Government's initiative For a Better Future, which is an attempt to achieve this very goal, is welcome. In order to effectively implement this initiative, the Government should develop coordinated and flexible mechanisms oriented to the needs of conflict-affected persons both at the legislative and practical levels and on the other hand, the Government should develop a communication strategy in order to make the information about offered mechanisms and opportunities available for the conflict-affected population.