U.S. Focuses on Promoting Democratic Institutions in Georgia

The U.S. human rights and democracy strategy in Georgia focused on the promotion of democratic institutions and processes, the development of a vibrant civil society, fundamental freedoms, rule of law, human rights, and measures against trafficking of persons, according the annual Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record 2005 – 2006, released on April 5 by the U.S. Department of State.

Unlike its annual Human Rights Country Report, Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record 2005-2006 “highlights U.S. efforts to promote human rights and democracy in only 95 countries and entities – those facing the most serious human rights challenges.”

“Georgia continued to follow an ambitious reform agenda to create and strengthen democratic institutions and processes, including reducing human rights violations. Accordingly, its human rights record improved in some areas, although serious problems remained,” the report reads.

The report also notes that “the separatist regime in Abkhazia continued to prevent repatriation of approximately 230,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), and the de facto authorities of South Ossetia continued to obstruct repatriation of 12,767 ethnic Georgians.”

“The United States regularly worked with Georgia’s IDPs to examine the potential for conflict mitigation and recovery assistance and launched a housing program that could act as a model for the return of IDPs,” according to the report.