Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism

Ergneti IPRM

Rome [ENA] The 102nd meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) took place today in Ergneti, under the co-facilitation of Ambassador Marek Szczygieł, Head of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM), and Ambassador Annika Söder, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus. In the early 1990s, conflicts in Transdniestria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh

escalated into large-scale violence, resulting in thousands of casualties and tens of thousands of displaced persons. Twenty years after, there has been no political settlement of these conflicts. For this reason, they are widely referred to as “frozen conflicts”. This catchy phrase does have its merits, as the status quo in these conflicts has remained largely unchanged over a long period of time, but it is also misleading in many respects. Reflecting on developments since the last Ergneti IPRM meeting, the two co-facilitators welcomed the release of Zaza Gakheladze, and called for a humanitarian approach to all detention cases. They also positively noted the effective co-operation that took place over summer, in particular during

the irrigation season that resolved concrete issues regarding access to water. During the meeting, participants discussed the impact that the protracted closure of crossing points and the on-going COVID-19 pandemic have on conflict-affected communities. In this regard, the co-facilitators, who stressed that the Odzisi crossing point has been closed to regular cross-administrative boundary line (ABL) traffic for over two-years, reiterated their call for the resumption of freedom of movement with adequate COVID-19 mitigating measures in place. Participants also discussed recent instances of 'borderization', as well as the most recent security developments at the administrative boundary line.

The situation in the Chorchana-Tsnelisi area, flights of UAV and other aerial vehicles in the proximity of the ABL featured as well. The co-facilitators encouraged all participants to continue using the EUMM-managed Hotline and the IPRM meetings to exchange information, discuss and solve concrete issues, defuse tensions, build confidence and maintain stability. Continued dialogue, they added, is for the benefit of the conflict-affected population living on both sides of the ABL. The meeting, which was held in a constructive atmosphere, also allowed participants to continue their discussion on how they can further advance the Women, Peace and Security agenda in the IPRM format, including through increasing women's meaningful participation.