The Public Defender of Georgia has submitted an alternative report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination for the hearing of the Russian Federation at the 93^rd session. The report reviews the alleged violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination by the Russian Federation in the occupied territories of Georgia.

The aim of the document is to draw the attention of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to the cases of discrimination on ethnic grounds in the occupied territories of Georgia.

The report reviews the discriminatory treatment of ethnic Georgian population of the Tskhinvali region and Abkhazia from 2013 through May 2017, compared with other ethnic groups living there. The Public Defender focuses on the issue of documentation for the residents of Gali and Akhalgori districts, restrictions on the movement at the dividing line and cases of detentions at Russian military bases. The report emphasizes the violations of property rights, the right to get education in the native language and the right to life, which mainly concern the Georgian population of the occupied territories.

The international legal responsibility for the violation of these rights, as well as for discriminatory policies, rests with the Russian Federation as a country exercising effective control.

The Public Defender of Georgia also submitted recommendations for Russia to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The Committee will discuss the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination by the Russian Federation on August 3-4.