The Democracy Research Institute (DRI) has appealed to the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia to create a 24-hour hotline for the population of the occupied territories.

The Democracy Research Institute has been studying the rights situation of people living in the occupied territories and along the occupation line for years. The study showed that it is particularly difficult for the residents of the occupied territories to have communication with the territory controlled by the central government. In the context of the pandemic, this problem has been exacerbated and the population has been, in fact, left without essential information.

Communication with Tbilisi is critically important for the part of the population living in occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region.

Based on the above, the Democracy Research Institute appealed to the Prime Minister of Georgia and the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia with a proposal to establish a special 24-hour hotline for IDPs and people living in the occupied territories and along the occupation line. The hotline should become an additional means of accessing information on state support programmes/planned activities and facilitating the protection of the right to life and health as well as other basic rights. In addition, when introducing the existing mechanism, it is necessary to take into account the language needs of the local population.