PROTOCOL # 4 OF THE MEETING OF THE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON FACILITATION OF THE VOLUNTEER RETURN OF REFUGEES AND IDPS AS A RESULT OF THE GEORGIAN-OSSETIAN CONFLICT TO THE PLACES OF THEIR FORMER PERMANENT RESIDENCE

September 30, 1998, city of Borjomi.

Chairman:

Machavariani Irakli – personal representative of the President of Georgia on political problems of national security and settlement of conflicts, head of the Georgian side of the JCC.

Agenda of the meeting:

1. Information of the sides on the conducted work.

2. Organizational issues.

On Place and date of the next meeting.

I. The floor was taken by:

From the Georgia side – Gambashidze

From the South-Ossetian side – Chochiev

From the North-Ossetian side – Kachmazov, Gaboev

From the Russian side - Korotkov

From the mission of the OSCE - Baltov

From the UNHCR – Andrew

The floor was taken by: Sotieva, Korotkov, Machavariani, Kachmazov, Kublashvili, Machabeli, Chochiev, Baltov, Kushpel, Ambalov, and Pirtskhalava.

It was decided:

1. Information of the sides to be taken note of, claiming with satisfaction that the meeting took place in the constructive, positive mode.

2. To stress the positive trends on the issue of return of refugees and IDPs. In relation with the existing problems of return to cities pf Tbilisi, Tskhinvali and etc. to find it appropriate to organize regular consultations among the sides and their executive bodies at the places to provide for maximum effectiveness and improvement of mechanism of volunteer return of refugees and IDPs.

 3. Having taken note of the decision of the legislative body of the South Ossetian side to introduce amendments into the form of application on return of refugees and IDPs, approved by the JCC, to consider it appropriate to use the foremerly approved form before the discussion about this issue on the next meeting of the JCC.

4. The sides, receiving the returning refugees and IDPs shall elaborate on cooperation with UNHCR and OSCE, with participation of the local administrations proposals on programs of rehabilitation and integration of the returned. At the same time, in the prepared programs shall be reflected the following directions:

- Legal support to the returned;

- Realization of the programs of humanitarian assistance (in the domain of medical care, secondary education and kindergartens, social adaptation, etc.);

- Provision of land plots and agricultural farms.

5. The Georgian and the South Ossetian sides, with a purpose of provision for reliability of data on refugees, registered in the Republic of North-Ossetia-Alania, to define districts and to realize their double-check of information, provided by the refugees and also of the actual number of the returned to the places of their former residence.

 6. Drawing attention of the sides to necessity of activation of work on information support to the settlement of the conflict as a whole and the process of return of refugees, namely, approving the initiatives of the non-governmental organizations in this direction to express support to the work of the public information center and to recommend to it to spread its activities towards Vladikavkaz and also to recommend to the JCC to include the Center in the coverage of its work.

7. In the process of filling and sending of applications of refugees and IDPs, aspiring to return to the places of their former residence, to follow the uniform procedure, established in compliance with the decisions of the JCC.

8. To intensify the process of return and to keep the permanent working contacts between the sides to provide for the regular meetings of the committee and in any situation to avoid long (more than two months) breaks between them.

II. The floor was taken by: Ambalov, Sotieva, Kublashvili, Machabeli, Baltov, and Kushpel.

It was decided:

The sides shall in ten days present to each other changes in the membership of their

part of Committee.

III. The floor was taken by: Chochiev, Kublashvili, Kushpel, Kachmazov and Machavariani.

It was decided:

1. The next meeting of the Committee shall take place in November of the current year in the city of Vladikavkaz. Date of the meeting will be agreed by the sides additionally.

Chairman of the meeting

Head of the Georgian side of the JCC I. Machavariani.

(Archive of the Staff of the State Minister of Georgia on Conflict Settlement)