A/HRC/45/54 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 43/37, the Human Rights Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to present an oral update at its forty-fourth session on follow-up to the resolution, 1 and a written report at its forty-fifth session on developments relating to the resolution and its implementation. In the resolution, the Council also requested the High Commissioner to continue to provide technical assistance through her office in Tbilisi, Georgia, and called for immediate and unimpeded access for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and international and regional human rights mechanisms to Abkhazia, Georgia, and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia.2 2. Pursuant to resolution 43/37, the present report gives an update on the technical assistance provided by OHCHR in Georgia and on key human rights developments between 1 June 2019 and 31 May 2020. Guided by concerns highlighted in the preamble to the resolution, the report also describes the main human rights issues in and around Abkhazia and South Ossetia. 3. OHCHR applied the same methodology used for the preparation of the previous reports of the High Commissioner on cooperation with Georgia. 3 In addition to reaching out to relevant stakeholders, OHCHR issued a public call4 for written submissions pursuant to resolution 43/37. 4. This report is based on information available to OHCHR, including submissions from the Government of Georgia, the Public Defender of Georgia (an “A” status national human rights institution), international and regional organizations, non-governmental organizations, and desk research. As the previous reports, this report does not present a comprehensive account of the human rights situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia due to lack of access. 5. OHCHR wishes to bring again to the attention of the Human Rights Council the continued absence of a dedicated budget to support the reporting mandate on Georgia, 5 which continually constrains the effectiveness of OHCHR in implementing the resolution. OHCHR encourages Member States to provide an adequate programme budget implication for future requests. II. Context 6. On 20 June 2019, in Tbilisi, protests erupted outside Parliament after a Russian parliamentarian had chaired a session of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy from the seat of the Speaker of Parliament of Georgia. The protest proceeded peacefully until some participants attempted to force their way into Parliament. While the majority of law enforcement officers held their positions, some fired rubber bullets at protesters at close range, seriously injuring some, including two individuals who lost an eye. According to the Public Defender, more than 200 people were injured during these clashes, which lasted until the morning of 21 June.6 These events had a significant impact on the political environment, generating mutual recriminations between the ruling party and the opposition, and a consequent polarization. 1 2 3 4 5 6 A recording of the oral update is available at http://webtv.un.org/search/hc-oral-update-on-georgia26th-meeting-44th-regular-session-human-rights-council/6172106912001/?term=&lan=english&cat=Human%20Rights%20Council&sort=date&page=3. Abkhazia, Georgia, and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia, are hereinafter referred to as Abkhazia and South Ossetia. A/HRC/36/65, paras. 3–5; A/HRC/39/44, paras. 4–5; and A/HRC/42/34, paras. 3–4. See www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/ENACARegion/Pages/GeorgiaRes43L7.aspx. A/HRC/42/34, para. 4. Report of the Public Defender of Georgia on the situation of protection of human rights and freedoms in Georgia, available at http://ombudsman.ge/res/docs/2020070407523954521.pdf, p. 184. 3