According to the historic decision of the Hague International Tribunal, the Georgian side did not commit any crimes prohibited by international law during the August war. There are no Georgian privates, military, or political officials among the accused identified in 2022 as a result of the investigation by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
One of the main pillars of the investigation was the personal stories of more than 1,000 people affected by the war, documented by the Civil Society Foundation team and partners. The report “August Ruins” contains facts and documentary material about cruel and inhuman acts committed en masse on the territory of Georgia.
The materials obtained by NGOs show how widespread and systematic the attacks on villages were during the 2008 conflict. The report contains information about Russian airforce strikes on residential houses, gardens, arable land, schools, civilian infrastructure, the burning of houses by Ossetian armed groups, the bulldozing of villages and other grave cases. The facts prove that the bombings, which took the lives of many civilians, were discriminatory and disproportionate.
Personal stories of people affected by the war and facts about the August War can be found in the report “August Ruins“.
In August 2008, the Foundation’s staff managed to organize urgent emergency measures. The Foundation allocated funds from its own budget to provide humanitarian aid to the internally displaced persons and brought together volunteer psychologists, psychotherapists and social workers to work on their problems. In addition, the Foundation operated a hotline where one could obtain information about compact housing facilities for the internally displaced persons.
The Foundation contributed to the dissemination of reliable information in local and international media; also, 208 applications were filed with the European Court on the rights of 935 persons affected by this war.
In addition to mobilizing its own resources, the Foundation contacted organizations that, on their part, provided assistance to the internally displaced persons.