Mr. Giorgi Tkemaladze, First Vice-President of NALAG and the full member of Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is attending the meeting of the Current Affairs Committee of Congress, which is held in Stuttgart, Germany. One of the main issues discussed during the meeting is “The role of Local and Regional Governments in protecting Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS)”.

The meeting was held in the Parliament of State of Baden-Württemberg. Mr. Tkemaladze expressed gratitude for reflecting their earlier remarks in the document and asked for further elaboration on text and to propose modified formulations of some paragraphs.

The Vice-President of NALAG mentioned that in Georgia up to half a million IDPs continue to be deprived of their fundamental right to safe and dignified return to their homes.

“The ongoing occupation of the two Georgian regions by the Russian Federation, ethnic discrimination and grave human rights violations of local population, restriction of freedom of movement and prohibition of education in native language further destabilizes the situation on the ground and creates a threat for another wave of IDPs from the occupied territories of Georgia.” – stated Mr. Tkemaladze.

“More international efforts are required to facilitate the solution of the issue of return of IDPs to their homes through peace negotiations. The firm stance and mobilized efforts of international community is crucial to facilitate solutions for peaceful conflict resolution.” – said the Vice-President of NALAG.

Besides this topic, participants of the meeting also discussed the Code of good practice for civil participation in the decision-making process and work programme of the committee.

Next meeting of the Current Affairs Committee of Congress of Local and Regional Authorities will be held on October 29, 2019 in Strasbourg.