Representatives of the United Kingdom and France addressed participants of “Respect for Human Rights for Sustainable Peace”, held on the sidelines of UN General Assembly high level meeting,- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia reports.

According to their information, during their speeches the participants emphasized the human rights situation in Georgia’s occupied territories and confirmed full support to the Georgian government’s peace initiative.

“The UK supports Georgia’s peace initiative, it’s a pragmatic, innovative plan and provides better opportunities for building bridges between the communities that are separated by war,” said Jonathan Allen, representative of the United Kingdom. “The initiatives on construction of bridges and improvement of humanitarian condition are what we need today,” French diplomat said.

Representatives of the UK and France also emphasized the necessity of access to international monitoring mechanisms in the occupied regions of Georgia, including the UN Human Rights Commissioner’s office.

The government of Georgia has approved a new peace initiative – A Step to Better Future, involving three main directions: encourage, expand and simplify trade across dividing lines through creating new opportunities; create additional opportunities for quality education and simplify access to all levels of education both internally and internationally; ease an access of the population of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region to various services and benefits, including an introduction of a status-neutral mechanism of identification with a personal number for the residents of the two regions that does not relate to citizenship but enables to access a range of various services.