The aim of the joint event organized by the Public Service Development Agency of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was to discuss the progress made by Georgia in addressing statelessness and the outcomes of ongoing efforts to eliminate statelessness through cooperation with the UNHCR. These efforts aim to identify and document stateless individuals.
The event was opened by the First Deputy Minister of Justice of Georgia – Tamar Tkeshelashvili and the Representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Georgia – Kemlin Furley.
“It is encouraging to note that the measures taken by Georgia in addressing statelessness have been positively assessed both domestically and internationally, placing the country among the leaders in Europe in this area. Over the past decade, there has been a significant decrease in the number of stateless individuals in Georgia, ensuring that all such individuals are documented and able to fully realize their rights” – noted by Tamar Tkeshelashvili, who expressed gratitude to the UNHCR and Agency’s team for the results achieved through their fruitful collaboration.
Kemlin Furley emphasized the achievements of Georgia in reducing statelessness, bringing the country’s practices even closer to international standards.
The Chairperson of the Agency – Ketevan Betlemidze provided a detailed briefing to the public on the measures and future plans in place to reduce and prevent statelessness, as well as the activities carried out as part of the ongoing Door-to-Door campaign in collaboration with UNHCR and the results of these efforts.
The event was attended by representatives from the government administration, government agencies, the Georgian Parliament, the Public Defender’s Office, as well as international and local organizations.
