SOUTH OSSETIA: LAW ON RESTITUTION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 000826 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, DRL, PRM ETTA TOURE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PREF GG SUBJECT: SOUTH OSSETIA: LAW ON RESTITUTION REF: TBILISI 602 ¶1. Summary: On January 1, 2007, a new Georgian restitution law entered into force, authorizing the GoG to provide compensation for the approximately 60,000 Ossetian refugees (90% of whom fled to North Ossetia) and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who lost their homes during the 1990-92 war. The law calls for the establishment of a nine-member Restitution Commission, to be formed by May 31, which will review all refugee property claims over a period of nine years. According to the law, three international experts will be appointed to the Commission, and these experts will then choose three representatives each from the Georgian and Ossetian sides. Valerie Marchand, OSCE Rule of Law Advisor, told Poloff on April 11 that Zinaida Beststaeva, State Minister for Civil Integration is in charge of forming the Commission. Beststaeva just recently sent out letters to the international community asking for assistance in finding international experts for the Commission. MP Shota Malashkhia, Chairman of the Temporary Commission for the Restoration of Territorial Integrity, told Poloff on April 4 that the de-facto authorities in South Ossetia have refused an invitation to participate in the Commission. He said the GoG will propose that the Commission consider representatives from Dimitry Sanakoyev's alternate government to represent the South Ossetian side. He also said that the GoG has not yet allocated any money in the budget for claims, but were looking at a number of ways to compensate refugees, including property swaps and assistance from international donors. USAID is providing USD 270,000 over two years to the NGO "Association for Protection of Landowners Rights" (APLR) to establish a property database, implement an information sharing campaign for refugees in North Ossetia, and collect property claims for submission to the Commission. End Summary. Restitution claims on hold until Commission forms -------------- -------------- ¶2. One of the key provisions of the restitution law calls for the establishment of a tri-partite Restitution Commission that will oversee the restitution process and adjudicate all property claims. Malashkhia told Poloff on March 28 that the law "isn't working" primarily because representatives from the de-facto South Ossetian government have refused to participate on the Commission. According to the OSCE's Marchand, however, the Commission cannot even be formed until three international experts have been appointed, and these experts in turn choose the Georgian and South Ossetian members. Marchand said that the GoG recently sent out official letters asking for support from the international community in finding these experts, adding that the GoG's late start makes it unlikely that the Commission will be formed in time for the May 31 deadline (Note: The law can, and likely will, be amended to extend this deadline. End note). Marchand said that members of the international community are reluctant to participate because the law is not clear about who will pay for these experts, what their role will be, and who will provide support staff. GoG to recommend Sanakoyev's representatives for Commission -------------- -------------- ¶3. Since the South Ossetian de-facto officials refuse to participate, Malashkhia said that the GoG would support the inclusion of any party willing to take responsibility for the Ossetian refugees, including representatives from Sanakoyev's alternate government. He added that he hoped representatives from Sanakoyev's government would join the commission "soon," but acknowledged that that nothing would move forward prior to the appointment of the international experts to the Commission. Malashkhia also said that the restitution law was passed too late to include it in the GoG budget for FY07. Funds for restitution claims would likely be included in the FY08 budget, he said, but the GoG was also looking at other approaches, such as property swaps, that would not require much funding. The GoG also hoped to organize a donors conference, he said, to help generate funds to cover restitution claims. Majority of refugees prefer to remain in North Ossetia -------------- -------------- ¶4. The law is intended to benefit all refugees and IDPs, regardless of where they fled, whether it was North Ossetia, Georgia, or anywhere else. Marchand said, however, that many of the refugees who fled to North Ossetia were skeptical that they would receive any compensation from the Georgian government. She said the majority of these refugees prefer to remain in North Ossetia, where they have lived for over 13 years, and receive cash compensation for their lost property TBILISI 00000826 002 OF 002 (Note: the law guarantees the return of the refugee's original property or suitable 'immovable substitute', allowing for cash compensation only in the event it is impossible to provide an adequate substitute residence. End note). She said they did not want to return to their original residences, nor did they want a comparable 'immovable substitute.' She said all the refugees now have Russian citizenship, many have children who speak only Russian, and either have no desire to return to Georgia or are afraid of what will happen when they return. APLR begins property database inventory -------------- ¶5. APLR, in conjunction with the Ministry of Refugees and financed with a USD 270,000 USAID grant, has started to inventory houses and land parcels abandoned by Ossetians who fled Georgia during the war. According to David Giorgadze, director of APLR, approximately 6,000 homes and an equal number of land parcels in 260 villages were abandoned by Ossetians fleeing Georgia. Once its inventory and database of the properties are complete, and the Restitution Commission is formed, APLR will conduct outreach activities to refugees in North Ossetia, informing them of the program and beginning to collect individual claim information. Comment -------------- ¶6. While the passage of the restitution law marks an important first step toward providing compensation for Ossetians who lost their property during the war, the GoG still needs to address some key issues as it moves forward. Ambiguities in the law concerning the finance and operation of the Restitution Commission will require further clarification before securing international donor support. The GoG must also work closely with APLR on outreach to North Ossetian NGOs and the refugees to build trust in the program. The GoG must also balance this project with several of large-scale, government-initiated projects targeting refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs),including the Ministry of Refugees' "My House" project (reftel) and its new National Strategy for IDPs. All of these projects require large amounts of outside donor funds necessitating a moderate approach to avoid donor fatigue. We will keep encouraging the GoG to take these steps. TEFFT