Georgia

In August 2008 armed conflict broke out between Georgia and the Russian Federation over control of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Both parties took prisoners of war (PoWs). The Georgian authorities granted the ICRC access to Russian detainees held in connection with the conflict. An agreement between the parties brokered by the European Union included a commitment by both parties to enable humanitarian aid operations and end active hostilities. The parties subsequently released and handed over to each other all people detained in connection with the conflict.

Armed conflicts in Georgia in the 1990s and in 2008 left thousands of people unaccounted for. Their families continue to seek information about their whereabouts.  With the support of the ICRC as a neutral intermediary, cross-border coordination mechanisms were established to clarify, on purely humanitarian grounds, what happened to the missing and provide answers to their relatives. With ICRC support, these mechanisms have succeeded in locating and exhuming gravesites, identifying human remains and returning the bodies to their families. 

Armed conflicts in Georgia in the 1990s and in 2008 led hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. While many have since returned home, tens of thousands remain displaced for the foreseeable future and require support in establishing durable homes and livelihoods. In 2007, recognizing its responsibility towards the displaced, the government of Georgia adopted a State Strategy for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) aimed at better addressing IDPs’ needs in accordance with national and international law. Using that framework, the government developed an action plan in consultation with the international community and IDPs, and has already improved conditions for many IDPs by providing adequate housing and access to education.