Georgian Justice Minister Rati Bregadze pays an official visit to the United States. He addressed the 22nd Assembly of the International Criminal Court (ICC) held on December 4-14 in New York.

The Minister spoke about crimes committed against peaceful civilians and military personnel during the August 2008 Russia-Georgia war.

Bregadze noted that through intensive cooperation with the ICC’s Prosecutor’s Office, in 2022, the ICC issued arrest warrants against three high-ranking officials of the occupied Tskhinvali region, stressing Georgia expected them to be enforced.

Rati Bregadze underscored the ICC’s significance in the protection of the supremacy of law and victims and pledged future cooperation.

During his US visit, the Georgian Justice Minister also met Miguel de Serpa Soares, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel.

Rati Bregadze stressed Georgia-UN’s prolific cooperation in Georgia’s judicial system development as the “best tool for building a democratic state and society.”

The parties agreed that in the summer of 2024, Georgia, in cooperation with the Office of the UN Deputy Secretary-General, will host a regional conference on acute issues of international law.

Deputy Georgian Justice Minister Beka Dzamashvili, Head of the Special Penitentiary Service Nika Tskhvarashvili, and Georgia’s Ambassador to the UN, Davit Bakradze, attended the meeting.