The 56th meeting of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM), chaired by the UN, with participation of the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM), was held in Gali on 18 May 2018.
The meeting was conducted in a constructive atmosphere. All participants agreed that the overall security situation on the ground at the Abkhaz Administrative Boundary Line had remained relatively stable, with no serious incidents since the last IPRM held on the 25 April 2018.
The case of the murder of Mr. Otkhozoria was one more time addressed in the IPRM format without any progress. The Mission underlined that justice had not been appropriately served, and urged participants to consider new ways of furthering cooperation to end impunity.
Participants praised the working of the EUMM-managed hotline as an essential instrument in managing incidents. In this context, the Mission urged all participants to do their utmost to avoid unnecessary detentions, continue make full use of the hotline and to take all possible measures to exchange information on matters pertaining to detentions and stability across the Administrative Boundary Line.
Freedom of movement of the local population and challenges were discussed at lenght. The EUMM remains concerned about the negative impact of the restricted freedom of movement on the local population along the Administrative Boundary Line.
Under a standing agenda item regarding the exchange of advance notice on sensitive activities, the EUMM stressed the importance of transparency and early warning on actions by military and security forces as well as other relevant activities in order to build confidence across the Administrative Boundary Line.
The next IPRM meeting will take place in Gali on 27 June 2018.
