PACE Urges Georgia not to Hasten Chechen Refugees’ Repatriation
(Tbilisi, June 28, Civil Georgia) – Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) urges the Georgian government “to refrain from any hasty repatriation of the Chechen refugees before the security conditions in Chechnya allow for safe returns in dignity.”
At the PACE session on June 27 European parliamentarians adopted report of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography on situation of refugees and IDPs in South Caucasian states.
According to the latest census up to 4,000 Chechen refugees are living in Georgia, mainly in troubled Pankisi gorge.
The Georgian and Russian sides agreed in February to cooperate in repatriation of the Chechen refugees to their homes. The Georgian side demands from Russia security guarantees for those refugees who will agree to return.