Human rights in Abkhazia are granted by Chapter II of its

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

which makes reference to adherence of Abkhazia to

UDHR The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, i ...

, ICCPR and

ICESCR The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (GA) on 16 December 1966 through GA. Resolution 2200A (XXI), and came in force from 3 January 197 ...

(Article 11). However, Abkhazia is not a UN member state and is not a party of UN human rights treaties, unlike Georgia, whose sovereignty over Abkhazia is recognized by a bigger part of the international community. Abkhazia was classified as ''partly free'' by the Freedom House, its 2009 report naming corruption, problems in the legal system and the unresolved Georgian refugee problem as the main human rights issues. Freedom Housebr>report
on Abkhazia, 2009 In the 1990s, ethnic cleansing of Georgians took place in Abkhazia; many ethnic Georgians remain displaced persons to this day.

Domestic and international institutions

A post of Human Rights Commissioner (as of 2008 — Gueorgui Otyrba) exists under the President of Abkhazia. The UN Human Rights Office Abkhazia, Georgia (HROAG), was established in 1996 to protect and promote human rights there.

Media

There are several independent newspapers and one independent

SOMA Soma may refer to: Businesses and brands * SOMA (architects), a New York–based firm of architects * Soma (company), a company that designs eco-friendly water filtration systems * SOMA Fabrications, a builder of bicycle frames and other bicycle ...

radio station; electronic media are partially controlled by the state. On 21 September 2009 journalist Anton Krivenyuk was sentenced by the

Sukhumi Sukhumi (russian: Суху́м(и), ) or Sokhumi ( ka, სოხუმი, ), also known by its Abkhaz name Aqwa ( ab, Аҟәа, ''Aqwa''), is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the capital and largest city of ...

city court to a three-year suspended prison sentence for libel of president

Sergei Bagapsh Sergei Uasyl-ipa Bagapsh, ka, სერგეი ბაგაფში, russian: Сергей Васильевич Багапш, translit=Sergey Vasilyevich Bagapsh (4 March 1949 – 29 May 2011) was an Abkhaz politician who served as th ...

. On 8 June Krivenyuk had written an article for a Russian website which was widely republished in Abkhazian newspapers in which he criticised Bagapsh's decision to hand over control of the Abkhazian railway to Russia. Krivenyuk was the first journalist to be prosecuted in Abkhazia since the fall of the Soviet Union, and his conviction was seen by some other journalists as part of a government crack-down on independent media in the run-up to the December 2009 Abkhazian presidential election.

Constitution and ethnicity

The Constitution allows only to persons of Abkhaz ethnicity to be President of Abkhazia (Article 49; in the aforementioned translation words ''Abkhazian nationality'' are used, however, for citizens, another term is used — ''citizen of the Republic of Abkhazia'', like in Article 38. Besides, in the Constitution's text in co-official Russian language word ''национальность'' clearly indicating ethnicity is used).

Discrimination of ethnic Georgians

In 2016, murder of ethnic Georgian Giga Otkhozoria by Abkhaz border guards caused international resonance and raised question about human rights situation of ethnic Georgians remaining in Abkhazia, particularly Gali district, where 98% is ethnic Georgian and is often subject to ethnic discrimination, denial of political and civil rights, police misconduct and etc.

Literature

Marshania D. Z
Human and civil rights in the Republic of Abkhazia
2008.

References

External links

CoE Commissioner for Human Rights reportFreedom House report on Abkhazia
{{Asia in topic, Human rights in Law of Abkhazia Abkhazia Abkhazia Politics of Abkhazia