UK gov’t report on human rights covers Georgia’s occupied regions for 1st time

The United Kingdom’s (UK) Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has published its 2016 report on Human Right and Democracy worldwide.

For the first time in the history of the annual reports, the human rights situation in Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) have been assessed.

The two of Georgian regions were discussed in the chapter about Russia and Russia’s illegal actions that affect the security situation in the region.

"Russian actions in Abkhazia and South Ossetia led to deterioration in the human rights situation in both regions. There was increased pressure on freedom of movement, including through denial of access to documentation, closure of crossing points and installation of razor wire fences along the Administrative Boundary Lines”, the report said.

It added that in these two regions, Georgian language education has been severely curtailed and laws have been passed restricting the residency and property rights of ethnic Georgians.

The UK continued to call on Russia and the de facto authorities in both regions to allow international human rights organisations access to Abkhazia and South Ossetia. FCO Minister Sir Alan Duncan reiterated the importance of this during a visit to Georgia in November”, the report said.

• See the full report here.