10:00, 6 August 2010

UN Court to consider Georgia's claim against Russia in September

The judicial hearing of the Georgia versus Russia case on application of the International Convention on Eradication of All Forms of Racial Discrimination will take place on September 13-17.

On August 12, 2008, after the end of the of the armed conflict in South Ossetia, Georgia filed a claim against Russia to the UN International Court, accusing Moscow of violating provisions of the International Convention on Eradication of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Georgia wrote in the claim that starting from early 1990s Russia was engaged in "regular ethnic discrimination of the ethnic Georgian population and other groups in these regions."

Tbilisi has called the UN Court to oblige, prior to considering the dispute on the merits, Russia to ensure the rights of Georgian citizens in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. In particular, Georgia has called "to protect its citizens from violent acts of discrimination by Russian armed forces, which act jointly with separatist militants and foreign mercenaries in its territory."