Officials discuss ethnic minority issues in Georgia
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Problems facing ethnic minorities in Georgia were discussed at a meeting today between Georgia’s Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili and Astrid Thors, the High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Following the meeting, Nanuashvili said the pair discussed many important issues.
"We talked about the situation of ethnic minorities in Georgia as well as the situation in the breakaway regions."
"We introduced the activity, which refers to the intensification of relations with the Abkhazians and Ossetians and the recently established our office Ossetian Forum.”
Language issues are among the major problem facing ethnic minorities in Georgia, he said.
"In particular, ethnic minority groups do not have the means to gain information from the media in their own language and they often used Russian language and other media outlets. There are also problems in terms of education and other services,” the Ombudsman added.
OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors met Georgia’s Prime Minister yesterday, where she stressed the OSCE was eager to support Georgia implement its Civil Equality and Integration Strategy that outlines strong support for national minorities.
The Government of Georgia is offering internships at state agencies to graduates and final-year students representing ethnic minorities of the country. The new programme aims to better integrate the country’s ethnic minority groups into society.