On April 21, the Head of the Tbilisi Representation - Ekaterine Gamakharia participated in the Public Defender’s - Nino Lomjaria presentation about a special report on Impact of Closure of So-called Checkpoints in 2019-2020 on Rights Situation of Population of Occupied Territories.
According to the Public Defender of Georgia, the formal regime established by the de facto authorities for movement across the occupation line and the establishment of various barriers, such as the unpredictable closures of the so-called checkpoints, illegal arrests, problems with de facto documentation required for movement and other obstacles restrict the freedom of movement of the residents of occupied regions and create unjustified barriers to their access to livelihoods.
In her speech, Ekaterine Gamakharia focused on the possibility of free movement of Georgian citizens in the occupied territories, which this time implies the problem of obtaining the relevant document (residence permit). It still poses a risk that thousands of undocumented people will once again take the risky way of life and health to relocate to Georgian-controlled territory.
Meeting of the Women Initiative Group was held in the village Pakhulani (Tsalenjikha municipality). The meeting discussed the tools of the Gender Responsive Early Warning System, the main stages of its implementation, as well as the components of human security. Emphasis was placed on studying the needs of women and participants were selected to conduct the research (focus groups, in-depth interviews and questionnaires).
On the same day, a similar meeting with a youth initiative group was held in school # 2 of the village Lia (Tsalenjikha municipality). The children also wrote essays on the topic of Abkhazia and sent messages to Abkhazian peers. Three members of this group shared the knowledge gained at the common training of the initiative groups with friends.
The meetings of three initiative groups were held in Zugdidi municipality. One group of women was formed in Zugdidi, and the second united women living in two villages - Koki and Khurcha.
The main topics of the meetings were: meaning of the Gender-Responsive Early warning System, its components and stages of implementation. Participants received detailed information about the research. The aim of the research is to study the interests of women from different vulnerable groups.
The third initiative group includes only young people. The group was created in the schools of the village Koki. The activity of the students is special. The members of this group, who passed training organized by the Fund "Sukhumi", shared with their peers the knowledge they gained about the Gender Responsive Early Warning System.
- What does early conflict prevention mean, how to react according to the components of human security, what kind of dangers do the young people feel - these and other questions, using thematic exercises, were discussed with Senaki youth group.
According to young participants, low level of education, the problem of employment, the migration of women, and the social background is dangerous. In their opinion, every person perceives danger differently, and the response mechanism should also be appropriate.
The second meeting was also devoted to this topic - with members of the women initiative group: what is the early conflicts prevention system and how important is its application in a gender prism. Group members will take part in the research - they learned about the techniques and skills of conducting focus groups and in-depth interviews.
Meetings of Women Iitiative Groups and youth were held in Kutaisi on the topic “Gender-Responsive Early Warning System ”. At the beginning of the meeting, the participants of the general training of initiative groups spoke about this system as the best way to avoid conflict (groups were also created in Khoni, Tskaltubo, Senaki, Zugdidi, Tsalenjikha, and 2-3 members from each group participated in the training).
Through the presentations, the participants of the meetings got acquainted with the main stages of the early warning system and response to them, with the essence of human security and other important issues.
At the end of the meetings, it was noted that, Kutaisi initiative group together with the initiative groups of other municipalities, will conduct a research of the population human security and gender needs.
A meeting with a youth initiative group was held in Tskaltubo municipality. With the help of role- games and thematic exercises, the participants discussed the following issues: early conflict prevention, components of human security in a gender perspective. They expressed interest in the topic during the analysis of role- games.
The second meeting was held with members of the women initiative group. They listened to information about research techniques and skills and will be involved in the research process, the purpose of which is to study the interests of different vulnerable groups in terms of human security components.
On April 6, a meeting with one initiative group of women was held in Khoni City Council and the other - in the House of Culture.
First speech was presented form the side of training participants (6 women out of this group participated in the training, which was held in Sairme) and they shared their impressions with the group members.
Then there was a presentation on "Gender Responsive Early Warning System." The participants of the two meetings got acquainted with the essence of this system and human security. At the end, they received information about the research "Assessment of the quality of population human security and gender needs", also the participants, who will carry out this work were selected.
In the framework of the new project “Women`s participation in the process of building trust and sustainable peace has been strengthened”, the needs research of women and IDP girls and victims of conflict has started in target municipalities.
During the meeting with the fieldworkers, information on important details of future activities was exchanged.
The geography of the research is 6 villages on the conflict dividing line and in Zugdidi. During the research, quantitative and qualitative information will be collected.
On March 25, 2021, Ekaterine Gamakharia, Head of the Tbilisi Office of the Fund "Sukhumi", participated in the side-event had been held within the framework of the 65th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW65).
Ekaterine and her organization documented about the devastating impact on the economic situation of IDPs and conflict-affected women. She stressed that women’s participation in policy formulation is critical in ensuring a sustainable recovery.
“I am passionate about contributing to a peaceful, just, and progressive society, in which women, together with men, are able to make a difference through their activism. I firmly believe that peace and security cannot be sustained unless women have an equal and active role in political, economic, and social policy formulation.”
