Minister of Foreign Affairs at Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Wednesday, January 29
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Davit Zalkailiani delivered a speech at the first part of the 2020 Ordinary Session of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly.
Zalkaliani paid special attention to the situation around the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia and Ukraine.
“We continue to witness grave human rights violations in the areas, remaining outside of the control of national authorities and population is deprived of basic rights, guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights. These areas remain inaccessible by the International Organisations, including the Council of Europe,” noted the minister.
The Georgian Foreign Minister called for respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
According to him, the Committee of Ministers continues to closely follow the conflict in Ukraine. The Committee of Ministers once again reiterates full respect towards the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. As he said, it is important to fully implement the Minsk accords and fulfill international obligations undertaken including by numerous PACE resolutions.
Zalkaliani noted that there have been some encouraging steps, such as the new dynamics within the Normandy format and the exchange of prisoners in December. “On the other hand, we remain concerned by reports on the deteriorating human rights situation in Crimea, in particular as far as members of minorities are concerned,” noted the minister.
While on the theme of Georgia, the Minister said that last November, the Committee held a discussion on the basis of the Secretary General’s latest report. On this occasion, delegations reiterated their unequivocal support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognised borders.
“It is essential that International Organisations, including the Council of Europe, have access to the conflict zones to ensure that human rights are respected in those areas of Georgia. At the same time, the Committee of Ministers’ Deputies annually adopts the Decision within the frame of the agenda issue “the Council of Europe and Conflict in Georgia,” said Zalkaliani.
The above-mentioned decision, according to the Minister, is an important legal and political document, which gives the international community the possibility to assess the difficult situation on the ground. The Committee of Ministers will continue to pay the greatest possible attention to the conflict in Georgia which will remain a standing item on the agenda of the weekly meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies.
Speaking before the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Georgian Foreign Minister also paid special attention to cyber-violence against women and girls, which, according to him, constitutes another growing concern for modern societies. It is one of the new phenomena, which affect significantly societies across Europe and beyond.
According to Zalkaliani, on 12 December 2019, the Georgian Presidency organized an informal exchange of views on this question. This event offered a useful opportunity to gather experience and good practice from stakeholders active in this field and contributed to a better understanding of the different forms of cyber-violence and their impact on women and girls.
“This event highlighted the importance of a combined implementation of the various Council of Europe instruments for ensuring a comprehensive and effective answer to such violence, in particular, the Istanbul Convention. Hereby, I would like to use this opportunity and ask the members states to consider joining the Convention,” said the Minister.
According to him, the Georgian Presidency will organize an event on the Digital Dimension of violence against women, within the framework of the 64th session of the Commission on Status of Women, planned in New York, in March 2020.
