The Parliament of Georgia joined hands with the United Nations and GTZ  to explore challenges and lessons learnt for the next level of ambitious implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The two-day international conference brought together members of parliament and representatives of government, international organizations, civil society, academia and the private sector.

The event was opened by Sopho Kiladze, Chair of the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee; Irakli Kobakhidze, Georgian Parliament Speaker; Mikheil Janelidze, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia;  Levan Izoria, Minister of Defence of Georgia; Martin Chungong, Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Secretary General; Niels Scott, UN Resident Coordinator in Georgia; and Daniel Haas, Head of South Caucasus Development Cooperation Office of the German Embassy.

Government officials met in the State Chancellery with representatives of women’s CSOs to exchange information on recent developments concerning human rights and the security situation in the villages adjacent to the Administrative Boundary Lines with Abkhazia and the South Ossetia/Tskhinvali region.

The discussion centred around several topics related to the everyday security of the population living in the villages adjacent to the ABL. Women’s organizations raised concerns related to the limited access to essential health, social and education services of the people living in the Gali region of Abkhazia, Georgia, as well as challenges related to the persisting problems with poor infrastructure.