President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili has called upon the international community to react to the violation of elementary humanitarian principles in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region after the confiscation and prohibition of Georgian-labeled medicines from the occupied territory.
On February 17, 2020, Radio Liberty reported that two pharmacies in the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region had a number of Georgian-labeled medicines confiscated by the de-facto Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tskhinvali region.
Zurabishvili sent a written appeal to Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Tedros Abhanom Ghebreyesus, the Secretary General of the World Health Organisation.
The de facto Tskhinvali regime is directly violating the right to healthcare, the right to life, the right to movement. I’m calling on the int’l community, @DrTedros, @mbachelet, @Dunja_Mijatovic, to react through all possible means to these violations of humanitarian principles. pic.twitter.com/QS7a3g6AoR
— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) February 19, 2020
In her letters Zurabishvili called upon the international community to ‘react through all possible means to such violation of elementary humanitarian principles’.
The president also mentioned that the de-facto Tskhinvali closed crossing points between the region and the rest of Georgia, which is causing a humanitarian crisis.
Closed crossing point deprives the local population the opportunity to travel to the Georgia-controlled territory, collect pension and purchase required medications. Such decisions directly obstruct the right to healthcare, right to life and right to movement”, reads the official letter.
The de-facto government of Tskhinvali has closed crossing points between the region and the rest of Georgia in September 2019, depriving locals of access to everyday items, quality medical aid and other necessities they received on Tbilisi-administered territory.