On February 6, 2017, Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili and Public Defender Natia Katsitadze met with the newly appointed Regional Representative (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,Johannes Van Der Klaauw.

At the introductory meeting, the Public Defender of Georgia spoke about the human rights situation in Georgia, in particular, the situation of IDPs, victims of the conflict, refugees and asylum seekers, as well as the Public Defender's activities in this direction. Ucha Nanuashvili noted that the study of the rights situation of IDPs, refugees and asylum seekers was one of the priorities of the Public Defender's Office.

The meeting also focused on the importance of the transition to needs-based approach for solving the long-term problems of IDPs. The sides emphasized the importance of strengthening of efforts in terms of raising IDPs’ awareness.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Representative thanked the Public Defender for cooperation and engagement in the process of drafting a new asylum-related legislation. He also emphasized the strengthening of procedures for monitoring asylums by the Public Defender’s Office.

The sides agreed to continue close cooperation in the future.