On June 4, 2024, the UN General Assembly in New York, within the framework of the 78th session, adopted the resolution initiated by Georgia and 63 countries from different regions of the world – “On the status of internally displaced persons and refugees from Abkhazia, Georgia and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia”.
The resolution was supported by 103 states, which is the highest number recorded so far. For the first time in history, the neighboring state of Armenia supported the resolution.
9 states voted against the resolution, and 52 states abstained from voting. China, Georgia’s new strategic partner, abstained from among them and therefore did not support the resolution. Iran also abstained from participating in the voting.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Ilia Darchiashvili, responds to this on social network X.
“Within the 78th session, the UN General Assembly once again adopted the resolution – “On the Status of IDPs and Refugees from Abkhazia, Georgia and the Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, Georgia”, with the highest rate of support so far – 103 votes. The resolution is of great importance in terms of humanitarian dimension.
Many thanks to the international community for their unwavering support of Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Ilia Darchiashvili wrote on X’s personal page.
“Georgia has been submitting the mentioned resolution to the UN General Assembly since 2008. The resolution condemns the demographic changes carried out by force in the regions of Georgia occupied by Russia, affirms the right of IDPs, regardless of ethnicity, to return to their homes with dignity and safety, and emphasizes the need to respect and protect their property rights.
The resolution also calls on the Geneva negotiators to intensify their efforts to improve the security and human rights situation in the regions of Georgia occupied by Russia, which in turn will facilitate the return of internally displaced persons and refugees to their homes.
In addition to the humanitarian context, the resolution also has a practical impact, as it instructs the UN Secretary General to prepare an annual report on the situation of the displaced population living in Georgia and the implementation of the resolution. This is particularly important in light of the severe human rights situation in the regions of Georgia occupied by Russia and the absence of international monitoring mechanisms, which is another obstacle to the safe and dignified return of internally displaced persons and refugees, and which is especially important now, when, among others, Russia As a result of the aggression against Ukraine, due to the record increase in the number of refugees and internally displaced persons, the existing severe humanitarian situation in the world has worsened even more.
It should be noted that the mentioned resolution has already become a global initiative in recent years, since dozens of countries from different regions of the world have joined the ranks of its co-authors. The co-authorship of the resolution gives them the opportunity to be more actively involved in international efforts to overcome the difficult humanitarian situation created as a result of Russian aggression and occupation. In 2024, 64 countries became co-authors of the resolution.
During the review of the resolution on June 4, statements of support were made by the European Union, the United Kingdom, Lithuania (on behalf of the Baltic and Nordic countries), Ukraine, Japan and Australia (on behalf of Canada and New Zealand).
The fact that this time Georgia was able to not only maintain but also increase the annual dynamics of support for the resolution should be considered a great success of Georgian diplomacy.
In addition, it is worth noting that for the first time this year, the President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, Denis Francis, took part in the discussion of the resolution, who delivered a speech at the session.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia thanks all the states that supported the resolution and became co-authors of the initiative. With the said decision, each country once again supported the right of return of internally displaced persons and refugees and expressed support to each displaced person,” reads the information released by the MFA Georgia.
By Ana Dumbadze
Image: Netgazeti
