A/HRC/45/54 South Ossetia. 35 This contributes to a climate of impunity, which could lead to further tensions and violence. OHCHR calls upon all relevant actors to ensure independent, impartial and thorough investigations into these cases to deliver justice, and to take all measures necessary to prevent the occurrence of similar incidents. 45. Information available to OHCHR indicates that the death penalty introduced in Abkhazia in April 2019 for drug-related offences became applicable in March 2020. This runs counter to the growing trend towards the progressive abolition of the death penalty worldwide, and to international human rights law which specifies inter alia that in situations where the death penalty has not been abolished, it can only be imposed for the “most serious crimes”, namely crimes of extreme gravity involving intentional killing,36 and under specific safeguards. 2. Right to freedom of movement 46. During the reporting period, unnecessary and disproportionate restrictions on freedom of movement remained of primary concern in both Abkhazia and South Ossetia and adjacent areas, in particular along the Administrative Boundary Lines. Such restrictions have negative consequences on various human rights, including the rights to health, family life, education, property, an adequate standard of living and non-discrimination, affecting the overall well-being of the communities concerned. Restrictions on freedom of movement also impede humanitarian assistance and development, and undermine confidence-building. 47. Over the past year, a continued process of the so-called “borderization” was enforced periodically along the Administrative Boundary Lines concerning Abkhazia and South Ossetia, including during the COVID-19 crisis. It involved, among other measures, the installation of barbed wire fences, “border signs” and trenches, combined with surveillance and strict controls. According to the Government of Georgia, since July 2019, this process has affected around 50 villages in and around the two regions, which has exacerbated tensions and worsened the already poor socioeconomic conditions of the hundreds of households in the villages concerned. Indeed, due to this process, many have been unable to access their main sources of livelihood, including their agricultural lands, water supplies and markets. In addition to mobility restrictions, “borderization” has also affected the rights to family life, culture and freedom of religion, prohibiting people from crossing the Administrative Boundary Lines to visit relatives, religious sites or graveyards. Various submissions to OHCHR showed that the entire village of Gugutiantkari had been affected by “borderization” activities in August 2019, notably compelling two families residing in that village to abandon their houses, and forcing them into displacement as barriers were being placed that cut through their properties. The two families were reportedly given three days to move to Tbilisi-controlled territory. 48. The frequent and prolonged closure of crossing points in Abkhazia and South Ossetia by the authorities in control – including in early 2020 as part of measures purportedly to contain the spread of COVID-19 – limited the access of local residents to education, health care, pensions, markets and other services available in the Tbilisicontrolled territory, as elaborated below. Authorities in control in South Ossetia reportedly completely closed the Administrative Boundary Line in September 2019 for an indefinite period, following the opening of a police guard post in the village of Chorchana. According to the Government of Georgia, the restrictions have particularly aggravated the humanitarian situation in Akhalgori, where the local residents were already confronted with a shortage of food, medicine and other basic necessities. 49. OHCHR also received information underscoring the continued negative implications of measures and practices imposed by the authorities in control in Abkhazia and South Ossetia for the acquisition of personal documents. Residents in Abkhazia were reportedly required to renew the de facto Abkhaz “passports” from February 2020, and crossing was 35 36 The victims were David Basharuli (in 2014), Giga Otkhozoria (in 2016), Archil Tatunashvili (in 2018) and Irakli Kvaratskhelia (in 2019). See A/HRC/36/65, paras. 46–47; A/HRC/39/44, paras. 54– 55; and A/HRC/42/34, paras. 47–49. A/67/275, para. 66; A/73/260, para. 63; and Human Rights Council resolution 42/24, para. 4. 11