Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, and the Head of the Parliamentary Delegation to the OSCE PA, delivered the address at the session concerning human rights. 

 

In his speech, he provided an account of the problems of the IDPs from the Georgian regions occupied by Russia.

 

According to him, the Georgian Government has taken certain steps to improve the living conditions of IDPs and provided accommodations to 61,000 IDP families. 

 

“As a result of the occupation of Georgia’s territories by Russia, first in 1992 and later in 2008, ethnic cleansing was carried out in these regions. The rights of the population that remains on the ground are continuously violated. Ethnic Georgian children are not given the opportunity to receive education in the Georgian language at schools. There is an ongoing attempt to erase Georgian cultural heritage, which is reflected in the destruction of Georgian churches, cemeteries, and the homes of Georgians”, - he reported.

 

Mr. Samkharadze touched upon the Ukrainian refugees forced to escape from Ukraine upon the commencement of the Russian aggression. As per his information, Georgia hosted up to 30,000 Ukrainian refugees, granting them equal rights and privileges as Georgian IDPs. 

 

N. Samkharadze, Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee and the Head of the parliamentary Delegation to OSCE PA, and Maia Bitadze, Chair of the Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Committee and a member of the Delegation, attend the 23rd OSCE PA autumn session in Istanbul on November 17-19.