HRW to report on human rights situation in Gali District of Abkhazia

On July 15 the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) will present the report outlining the human rights problems and specific recommendations to the authorities of Abkhazia and the international community to improve the situation in Gali District.

Field phase of the research was conducted in 2009-2010 at the territory of Gali District and at the territory of Georgian adjacent area – Zugdidi. In Gali District, the questioning of local residents, officials, teachers, doctors, and senior officials of Abkhazia was conducted by Tatiana Lokshina, the senior researcher at HRW on Russia; the questioning in Zugdidi was held by Lokshina's colleague Georgy Gogiya, the researcher at HRW on South Caucasus.

"This is our first article on Abkhazia since the 1992-1993 war. We decided to make this work because we are concerned about very important situation of human rights of so-called "return migrants" to Gali District, the southernmost and in fact the only area of Abkhazia, where ethnic Georgians had the opportunity to return," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Tatiana Lokshina.

According to official information, 47 thousand people returned to Gali District. "This figure is not entirely accurate, because it is a migratory population," explains Ms Lokshina.

Among the main challenges of the "return migrants" HRW considers freedom of movement, situation on safety, access to education in native language and necessity to have Abkhazian citizenship to gain an entire range of civil, political, social and economic rights.