On 31st August 2016, the 69th meeting under the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) took place in Ergneti, co-facilitated by Kęstutis Jankauskas, the Head of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) and Ambassador Guenther Baechler, the Special Repre¬sentative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office for the South Caucasus.
The meeting took place in a productive atmosphere. The security situation along the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) was the subject of continued attention and assessed as stable, although not free of challenges.
The Hotline continues to be recognized as an effective early warning mechanism. The co-facilitators commended the participants for their readiness to address security concerns through their frequent use of the Hotline to manage incidents on the ground and exchange information.
The participants discussed ways to avoid the risk of escalating tensions on occasions where armed security actors along the ABL encounter each other. Participants expressed their commitment to take the necessary measures to that extent.
There were extensive discussions on ABL crossings and related detentions including the treatment of detainees on a number of occasions.
The issues of farming and harvesting were raised and the recent positive facilitation of harvesting at the ABL was welcomed.
The next IPRM meeting will take place on 28th September 2016.
.JPG)
Pre-meeting discussions
.JPG)
The meeting is kicking off
.JPG)
The meeting is under way
