International Day of the Enforcedly Disappearedis observed on August 30. Enforced disappearance is recognized as a crime against humanity by the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, adopted on 20 December 2006, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The problem of the disappeared is painful in Georgia and is mainly linked to the armed conflicts. About 2000 persons are believed to be missing as a result of the conflicts of the 90s. Among them are about 1500 ethnic Georgians, 200 ethnic Abkhazians and 100 ethnic Ossetians, both armed persons and civilians; 6 ethnic Ossetians and 35 ethnic Georgians disappeared during the 2008 war.

The Public Defender honors the memory of the missing people, expresses his condolences to their families and friends, and calls on the Georgian Government, as well as the de facto authorities of Sukhumi and Tskhinvali, to essentially cooperate with each other to find the disappeared and help their families.

We welcome the fact that in 2013-2015 burial grounds were opened in Abkhazia and bodies were indentified and transferred to Tbilisi as a result of cooperation between Tbilisi and Sukhumi. However, unfortunately, cooperation is not successful between Tbilisi and Tskhinvali. In addition, the cases of persons missing since the August war remain uninvestigated.

On 23 July 2014, in its concluding observations on thefourth periodic reportofGeorgia, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concern about the delayed investigation of human rights violations committed during and after the armed conflict of 2008 as well as the delayed identification and punishment of perpetrators. In particular, this refers to the cases of enforced disappearances, disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force against civilian population and other protected persons, illegal detentions, torture and inhuman treatment, destruction and seizure of property, which in essence may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Given the current situation, it is of particular importance for the Georgian state to ratify the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. On the one hand, it will prevent similar cases in the Georgian jurisdiction, and on the other hand, it will be a clear indication that the Government is effectively fighting against this international crime. The mentioned topic was reflected in the Public Defender’s annual reports of 2013 and 2014.

It should be noted that the Public Defender’s recommendation about timely investigation of the cases of persons missing since the 2008 war, was twice shared by the Parliament in its resolutions of August 1, 2014 and July 3, 2015. According to the documents, the Prosecutor's Office must ensure rapid and effective investigation into the alleged crimes committed during and after the military activities, including the cases of disappeared persons. In addition, the Parliament shared the Public Defender’s recommendation in its resolution on August 1, 2014 and urged the Foreign Ministry to start the process of ratification of the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. However, both recommendations still remain unfulfilled.