Tbilisi, 03 June 2021 –U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Rob Portman visited today parts of the South Ossetian Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) near Zemo Nikozi and Ergneti villages with the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM).
EUMM Head of Mission, Ambassador Marek Szczygieł, welcomed the U.S. Senators and joined them throughout the visit, offering his insights on the most recent developments on the ground.
First in Zemo Nikozi, and later in the village of Ergneti, EUMM Monitors briefed the Senators on the security situation in the area, with a focus on ‘borderisation’ activities, such as wire fences, observation posts and surveillance equipment, and the negative impact on freedom of movement and other human rights of conflict-affected communities.
During the visit, the Head of Mission thoroughly updated the Congressional Delegation on the very concrete challenges of the communities living along the Administrative Boundary Lines, which have been further aggravated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Senators applauded EUMM for its work as the only international monitoring presence on the ground, and thanked the Mission for the informative field visit.
The last high-level U.S. visits to EUMM took place in October 2018 when Deputy Assistant Secretary for Eastern Europe and Caucasus, George Kent, visited the Mission Headquarters and joined Field Office Gori patrol. See here:
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