Property Restitution to the Victims of Georgian-Ossetian Conflict

 

  

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Status:  Completed

Full Activity Title: Support to the Government Initiative of Property Restitution for the Refugees Emerged as a Result of Georgian-Ossetian Conflict in early 1990-ies

Location: Georgia (including South Ossetia, Georgia); North Ossetia, Russia

 

Activity Dates: September, 2006 – January, 2009

  

Source of Funding: USAID

 

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Project Abstract

 

During Georgian-Ossetian conflict in early nineties 53,000 persons left their homes. About 42,000 ethnic Ossetian refugees and 10,000 Georgians were forced to abandon their homes in the South Ossetian Autonomous District. Majority of ethnic Ossetian refugees currently reside in Russian Republic of North Ossetia. The Georgian authorities have come up with a legislative initiative designed to restitute people who lost property in the South Ossetian conflict. Legislation  is intended to be passed to start a process where people will be able to reclaim flats, houses and other property lost or receive financial compensation.

 

APLR works with GoG to support the adoption of the law  on property restitution, prepares  graphic and textual database of approximately 12,000 abandoned properties (houses, flats, land), provides outreach to the beneficiaries of the restitution – ethnic Ossetian refugees – through information campaigns conducted in Georgia (including South Ossetia) and Russia’s North Ossetian republic, establishes sustainable mechanism that would enable refugees to find out the details of the new initiative, receive targeted legal consultation and file a claim regarding a property.

 

The results of these activities, including a completed database of abandoned properties along with the property claims, as well as running system of outreach and consultation  makes it possible to make just decisions about property restitution and contributes to the confidence building between the conflicting sides.