Promoting IDPs' and Women's Voices in Post-Conflict Georgia

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uling party. 433 There were some signs in 2008 that IDPs were beginning to shift their allegiances, but itwill remain to be seen in the upcoming election if a majority of IDPs continue to favor the currentgovernment, or whether dissatisfaction over collective center evictions, remote resettlement andcontinued livelihood challenges will encourage IDPs to cast ballots in favor of the opposition.One of the most significant limitations on IDPs’ political impact is the fact that they do not have a singlerepresentative party, lobby or even NGO coalition. As a result, no group can consistently communicatetheir needs and interests to political actors, deliver votes for politicians who champion IDP issues, orhold accountable officials who do not follow through on promises made to IDPs. 434 IDP parties havefound it difficult to survive on IDP platforms. 435 The most high-profile and currently active IDP politicalparty is led by a member of Parliament who is also an IDP from Abkhazia. However, IDPs and othersinterviewed expressed universal cynicism about this party’s genuine interest in representing IDPs and itsefficacy in doing so. 436The lack of a visible IDP representative or lobby stunts advocacy efforts by established organizations andindividual IDPs. As previously discussed, the lack of IDP representation may make the costs of includingIDPs in policymaking too high for government bodies to engage in participatory processes. It alsocontributes to the sense of perpetual disenfranchisement among IDPs, while hindering coordinationamong IDP organizations.In addition to preventing adequate representation in policymaking, the lack of IDP leadership at thenational level further damages IDPs’ reputation in the eyes of IDP advocates. Over time, it also seems todiscourage attempts at IDP organizing. Several representatives of international donors and NGOsexpress frustration that repeated attempts to foster IDP representation and political activity have failedas IDPs have seemed unwilling or unable to make a serious attempt at working toward common goals. 437As time passes without IDPs organizing, their credibility as political actors and a constituency diminishes.Previous IDP NGO coalitions, including those facilitated by international donors, have collapsed or beenmarginalized, failing to have a sustained impact on the political scene. The executive director of an IDPNGO explained what an impact this vacuum of leadership has on IDPs’ ability to make their needs andinterests heard by policymakers:“Honestly, that is why [IDP NGOs] don’t really influence government policies...becausewe don’t have a consolidated vision. And when it comes to simple meetings with the433 Conciliation Resources “Out of the Margins,” 15.434 Senior Fellow, Personal Interview.435 David Chochia, Personal Interview.436 Ibid.; Nana Sumbadze, Personal Interview. Some political parties have active IDP wings or organizations. This seems to be arather new phenomenon, and we were not able to gather sufficient information on their activities and or membership at eitherthe national or local level to analyze their efficacy in representing IDP issues.437 Tina Gewis, Personal Interview; Caroline Stampfer, Personal Interview; INGO Representative, Personal Interview.83
government, it always ends that there are a number of NGOs who can’t really sharetheir feelings...so it always ends in little fights between different NGOs.” 438Along with organizational capacity, other factors already discussed, including the diversity of IDP needsand interests, lack of faith in the efficacy of political participation, lack of accurate information abouthow to participate, lack of financial resources, fear of government reprisals or cooptation, continue toimpede the formation of effective bodies to represent IDPs politically. This situation thereby sustainsIDPs’ overall political marginalization. The Synergy Network, a relatively new coalition of primarily smalllocal IDP NGOs facilitated by the international NGO Conciliation Resources, may be developing into abody that can lead broad-based IDP advocacy efforts. At this time, however, the network seems to berelatively unknown, and its impact remains to be seen. 439Even without a central representative body, and despite the fact that IDPs may not be a decisiveconstituency for national politicians, Georgian political parties still actively court the IDP vote. The rulingparty has put strong pressure on IDPs to support it, 440 but the full extent of this pressure is unclear. Fortheir part, opposition political parties are also reported to aggressively campaign in IDP settlements andcollective centers seeking to win IDPs from the ruling party. The result is that some IDPs feel intimidatedand forced into silence, as they perceive that criticism of the government will be punished. Still, EkaGvalia of the NGO Charity Humanitarian Center “Abkhazeti” points out that political intimidation, insofaras it exists, is relatively new. On the other hand, IDP passivity has been a phenomenon for more than adecade, underscoring the complexity of factors influencing IDP political participation. 441General Public Opinion of IDPsPublic interest in and awareness of IDPs reportedly spiked during and following the 2008 war, andbriefly again during the evictions of IDPs from collective centers in 2010 and 2011. However, generally alow level of discernible public support for IDP issues exists. In fact, the opposite may be true – sourcespointed to lingering public resentment over “special treatment” given to IDPs when Georgians can pointto high levels of poverty and unemployment in the non-displaced population as well. 442Awareness and messaging help to explain this problem. The media plays a crucial role in shaping publicopinion of IDPs, and according to multiple sources, IDPs have very little access to mainstream media,438 Eka Gvalia, Personal Interview.439 Very few interviewees, including representatives from IDP NGOs working in municipalities where Synergy NGOs werepresent, were aware of the Network.440 Brookings, “From Responsibility to Response,” 210.441 Eka Gvalia, Personal Interview.442 Among other examples, IDP NGO leader Eka Gvalia cited the instance of the city of Poti, where the Georgian governmentdirected the city hall to prioritize resettled IDPs over longtime city residents for employment. This situation fosteredresentment among Poti residents toward IDPs. This example could not be independently verified. Eka Gvalia, PersonalInterview.84
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Promoting IDPs’ and Women’s Voi
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CONTENTSAcronyms and Abbreviations
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYInternally displac
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THE WOMEN’S POLITICAL RESOURCE CE
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fair reporting on politically sensi
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people-to-people diplomacy efforts
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and the Guiding Principles, in Febr
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an effort to address these stereoty
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The identities, perceptions, and re
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even IDPs themselves. The HRBA seek
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Karaleti settlement, and Potskho-Et
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displacement differently, with men
Page 26 and 27:
on an equal footing with men in for
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The Ministry for Internally Displac
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Defender’s Office) and leave no r
Page 32 and 33:
prominent national level IDP NGO wo
Page 34 and 35: in the past but none have yet to be
Page 36 and 37: Grassroots Peacebuilding EffortsCiv
Page 38 and 39: esettlement and local integration h
Page 40 and 41: ability to contribute to the new Ac
Page 42 and 43: Women convened a working group to a
Page 44 and 45: were involved, in addition to “wo
Page 46 and 47: towards addressing this population
Page 48 and 49: waves. 224 A Conciliation Resources
Page 50 and 51: governing shelter requirements. 238
Page 52 and 53: esults of eviction on those who did
Page 54 and 55: FINDINGSSIPA team member Drilon Gas
Page 56 and 57: unique opportunities exist for them
Page 58 and 59: an important opportunity for women
Page 60 and 61: early morning…when I was going to
Page 62 and 63: our office to investigate these iss
Page 64 and 65: on this? It’s impossible.” 322
Page 66 and 67: high levels of unemployment and pov
Page 68 and 69: groups do not differentiate between
Page 70 and 71: funding and influence to implement
Page 72 and 73: een in operation for two years or l
Page 74 and 75: organization, and highlighted that
Page 76 and 77: The Education System’s Influence
Page 78 and 79: system has an important role to pla
Page 80 and 81: Political FactorsMany elements of t
Page 82 and 83: international organizations working
Page 86 and 87: especially highly-influential broad
Page 88 and 89: ationale behind the government’s
Page 90 and 91: international working for a major d
Page 92 and 93: Also, according to a World Bank rep
Page 94 and 95: willing to challenge authorities th
Page 96 and 97: The lack of narrative connecting po
Page 98 and 99: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE GEORGIAN GO
Page 100 and 101: the government also needs to commit
Page 102 and 103: ‣ Continue to support and expand
Page 104 and 105: ‣ Address male IDP needs (Immedia
Page 106 and 107: The campaign should have a face, su
Page 108 and 109: APPENDIX BList of IntervieweesLocal
Page 110 and 111: Kristy KellyLincoln MitchellLawrenc
Page 112 and 113: Article 10 - Non-discrimination in
Page 114 and 115: Principle 18.1 - Adequate standard
Page 116 and 117: Esaiashvili, Mariam (Official, Mini
Page 118 and 119: Lanskoy, Miriam and Giorgi Areshidz
Page 120: Transparency International Georgia.
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Promoting IDPs' and Women's Voices in Post-Conflict Georgia

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