<b>The International Eurasia Press Fund would like to call the attention of the Georgian Authority to situation of the Internally Displaced Persons forceful evicted from their temporary settlements. Despite we understand that sometimes these evictions could be done in good faith, but most times the execution of these actions violates the rights of the IDPs.</b><br />
If the Georgian Authority plans to resettle the IDPs, it would be good if proper resettlement plan is put in place and not a forceful removal of the refugees and IDPs from the only place they know as refuge.
Refugees and IDPs are dignified persons with equal opportunities, so they should be treated with dignity like all other privileged citizens. The hundreds of thousands of displaced persons from South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 1990s definitely would like to have suitable shelters and living conditions, but they also have a right to determine how they should and shouldn’t be treated.
IEPF would not like the present situation to set a pattern for the region, particularly when a final solution would be determined for the hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani IDPs who still live in temporary shelters in Baku.
It would be appropriate if the Georgian Authorities reconsiders the approach to the evacuation until an acceptable decision by all involved is reached.
IEPF is a member of the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE). ECRE is a pan-European network of 69 refugee-assisting non-governmental organizations that promotes a humane and generous European asylum policy. ECRE and members network promote the protection and integration of asylum-seekers, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) based on values of human dignity, human rights and an ethic of solidarity.
Information Department of the IEPF