Conciliation Resources
The London Process is an informal Georgian-Abkhaz dialogue process aimed at finding new ways to move the peace process forward through regular meetings outside the region and follow-up work on the ground.
Initiated in 2012, and building on Conciliation Resources’ long track record in dialogue work in the region, the London Process brings together civil society activists, opinion-formers and officials from both sides of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.
The emphasis is on working together to develop practical solutions to key problems. Issues under discussion have included access to education and healthcare, freedom of movement, cultural heritage and dealing with the past, the status of ethnic Georgians living in Abkhazia and the issue of guarantees for the non-resumption of force.
The London Process provides a unique regular mechanism for Georgian and Abkhaz civic actors to meet. Many of those taking part are close to officials involved in the formal internationally-mediated Geneva talks, and it is hoped that the ideas and solutions being suggested in London will help to inform the official talks and in time lead to some real progress in Geneva too.
A key feature of the London Process is that it also involves international diplomats working on the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. For them it offers a rare opportunity to engage with people from the two sides together, and to exchange views on some of the key obstacles currently standing in the way of peace.
In October 2013 as the result of a practical initiative generated by an earlier London Process meeting, Georgian archaeologists handed over to their Abkhaz colleagues copies of archive documents about archaeological digs in Abkhazia, to replace originals that were destroyed in 1992 during the Georgian-Abkhaz war. It was a small but significant confidence-building measure that gave both sides a sense that the London Process has the potential to make a difference.
“There are always positive things that can be done against the odds,” said one participant.
“The London Process provides a forum for this.”