CoE Secretary General Visits Georgia

Within his official visit to Georgia on January 30, Council of Europe’s Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland met President Giorgi Margvelashvili, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze and Parliamentary Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze.

At the first meeting on January 30, Georgia’s chief diplomat briefed Secretary General Jagland on the security and human rights environment in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and emphasized the importance of human rights monitoring on the ground.

According to the Georgian Foreign Ministry, Thorbjørn Jagland “reaffirmed” the Council of Europe’s support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and “pledged” that the practice of publishing the Secretary General’s consolidated reports on the conflict in Georgia will continue in the future.

The issue of security and human rights situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia was also raised by Prime Minister Kvirikashvili, who emphasized the importance of human rights monitoring on the ground. According to the Prime Minister’s office, Kvirikashvili stated that he “values” the Secretary General’s consolidated reports on the conflict in Georgia.

The sides also talked on the ongoing constitutional and judicial reforms, as well as the implementation of the Action Plan for Georgia in 2016-2019. “During the meeting, the Secretary General commended Georgia’s progress in democratic reforms,” Kvirikashvili’s office reported.

In the Parliament, Secretary General Jagland and Parliamentary Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze spoke on the work of the State Constitutional Commission and its cooperation with the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body for legal affairs. The sides touched upon the electoral and judicial system reform processes, as well as the implementation of the Action Plan for Georgia in 2016-2019.

“We discussed the topics related to Georgia’s democratic development and focused on various issues, including those underlined in the PACE Resolution. We spoke about the ongoing constitutional changes and judicial reform,” Kobakhidze stated after the meeting.

According to the parliament’s press office, Kobakhidze expressed gratitude to Secretary General Jagland for publishing consolidated reports on the conflict in Georgia. He, however, noted with regret that CoE is not allowed in Abkhazia and South Ossetia for monitoring the situation on the ground.

Constitutional reform process and human rights environment in Georgia’s occupied regions featured at Secretary General’s meeting with President Margvelashvili.

“First of all, I reconfirmed our commitment to the cooperation with Georgia and the assistance that we are giving in many of the reforms that have been carried out here, in particular, paying attention to the constitutional process, which, we hope, can be inclusive and constitute the broad platform for political work and institutional building, which everybody can embrace,” Jagland said after meeting Giorgi Margvelashvili, who boycotts the work of the Constitutional Reform Commission.

“We put a lot of emphasis on reform of the judiciary. It is very good to see that they will draw on the expertise of the Council of Europe, which is respected worldwide,” the Secretary General added.

Jagland also noted that the organization has “discussed” expanding its contribution to confidence building measures between conflict-affected communities in Georgia. “We are thinking about how to expand this work and whether we could deploy or use our permanent monitoring bodies in these areas,” he stated.

“It is difficult, but I believe that it is of utmost importance that we are able to be on the ground to look after the rights of people on the whole territory of the Council of Europe, including these areas of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” Jagland added.