80th Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism meeting takes place in Ergneti

Ergneti, 7 September 2017 - On 7 September 2017, the 80th meeting under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) was held in Ergneti. Erik Hoeeg, Acting Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), and Ambassador Guenther Baechler, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus, co-facilitated the meeting.

Ambassador Baechler opened the proceedings and Erik Hoeeg provided a summary of events since the last meeting. These included an increased number of Hotline activations, military activities and detention cases.

Regarding the ongoing imprisonment of Mr. G. Giunashvili, the importance of continued access for the family and ICRC visits for humanitarian reasons was stressed.

Further discussions took place on a possible way forward to facilitate access to agricultural land on both sides of the Administrative Boundary Line. General principles were outlined, which could be used as an instrument for future work.

The case of Mr. D. Basharuli was again discussed. Participants undertook to provide further information as it becomes available.

Views were exchanged on announced changes to the language of instruction in Georgian schools in the Akhalgori district. The co-facilitators requested that additional information on this important subject would be shared with all participants.

The case of Ms. Tamara Mearakishvili was debated.

The participants discussed forthcoming events. The co-facilitators urged participants to actively use the Hotline for additional exchange of information on military and security activities close to the Administrative Boundary Line. This would assist in increased transparency in the security domain and reduce risks to stability.

The next IPRM meeting will take place on 3 October 2017.