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Ombudsman: Ecological migrants need to be recognized

Liberali reports that the Public Defender’s Office has published a special report on the rights of ecological migrants-those people who have had to move due to natural disasters. The report reveals that the rights of ecological migrants in Georgia have been abused and little has been done to address the issue.

The report stresses that a proper definition for economic migrants does not exist in Georgia's current legislation.

Thus, the ombudsman’s office recommends defining ecological migrants and giving them a special status. According to the report it is hard to obtain information about the problems of people affected by the natural disasters, as no relevant database exists.

This is why the ombudsman addressed the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia to create an electronic database of such people in coordination with local self-governments.

The report suggests that since 2009 the Ministry of IDPs has allocated very little money in this field.1062 houses have been given to people affected by natural disasters in Kakheti, Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti in 2004-2010.According to the report, 35,204 families have been registered as affected by the natural disasters.