Georgia, in the Black Sea region, was the site of political and ethnic disputes throughout the 20th century. Between 1990 and 2008, the region experienced various episodes of political violence linked to the establishment of independence and territorial reconfiguration following the breakup of the Soviet Union, particularly in the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. More than 2,300 missing persons remain unaccounted for as a result of these conflicts.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – as a neutral intermediary and chair of two Coordination Mechanisms established in 2010 to clarify the fate of people missing in connection with these conflicts – is supporting the processes of recovery, analysis and identification of human remains, including notification and the management of data related to these events. The work carried out in the framework of these Coordination Mechanisms is purely humanitarian and is not linked to any political or judicial process. It does not seek to assign blame for the deaths of the missing persons or to determine their cause of death.
In this context, from 2013 to 2023, the ICRC hired EAAF to conduct the recovery and analysis of these remains under its general coordination.
Several Georgian and Abkhazian forensic specialists also received training at EAAF’s African School of Humanitarian Forensic Action in South Africa.
