Madame President,
Estonia fully aligns itself with the statement delivered by the European Union.
We once again welcome the continuous and close cooperation between OHCHR and Georgian government. We commend Georgian efforts in the fight against COVID-19 and the attention paid to human rights protection also during the pandemic restrictions.
Estonia condemns using COVID-19 crisis as cover for escalation of human rights violations in the occupied territories of Georgia. The torture and murder of Inal Jabiev in Tskhinvali prison on 28th August is one recent example of inhuman acts committed by the de-facto authorities of occupied South Ossetia. The resulting uprisings demonstrate that such violations of human rights by the de-facto authorities are well-known among the population of the occupied territory and that they demand change. There is an urgent need to promptly and thoroughly investigate all allegations of torture and ill-treatment and related deaths.
Madame President,
Stability in the whole territory of Georgia will not be possible as far as Russian Federation shows its persistence in violating the Six-point agreement and the implementing measures from 2008. Estonia regrets that there is still no progress in granting OHCHR and other international humanitarian and human rights organizations unhindered access to South Ossetia and Abkhazia as called for in several HRC resolutions.
With this in mind, Estonia welcomes the annual reporting to this Council and call once again on the authorities de facto in control of the occupied areas to honour the international human rights law.
Thank you!