The State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, Tea Akhvlediani, held a meeting with the representatives of the non-governmental organizations involved in the network of support for the families of the missing.
The meeting was also attended by Daniel Maxwin, Special Representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for Missing Persons.
The Minister of State spoke about the importance that the Government of Georgia attaches to the successful and effective implementation of the state program to search for those missing as a result of the armed actions of the 1990s and the war of August 2008 and to support their families.
The participants of the meeting discussed the activities carried out to support the families of the missing persons and discussed the current issues and future visions.
At the meeting, attention was focused on the importance of taking into account the situation and needs of the families who have been in uncertainty for many years in the process of searching for the disappeared and their central role in the implementation of the program.
Non-governmental sector representatives from Tbilisi, Gori, Batumi, Kutaisi, and Zugdidi participated in the meeting; Also, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and state agencies.
“In the framework of the state program to determine and find the whereabouts of those missing after the armed operations in Georgia in the 1990s and the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, special importance is attached to the support and assistance of the families of the missing. In today’s meeting with the representatives of the non-governmental organizations involved in this component of the program, we discussed their activities and, based on the accumulated experience, we discussed the future priorities. In order to increase the effectiveness of the program, it is important to work in coordination with all actors involved in its implementation, to which the Office of the State Minister reaffirms its readiness in the future, “- said State Minister Tea Akhvlediani.