The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly held in Vancouver, Canada, adopted a Declaration at the 30th annual session which calls on Russia for the immediate and unconditional pull-out of military forces from Georgia’s two occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions.

Based on the Declaration, the OSCE “condemns the deterioration in the humanitarian and human rights situation in Georgia’s regions of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia occupied by the Russian Federation, as a result of violations of fundamental freedoms and human rights of people living therein, various forms of discrimination against ethnic Georgians, as well as the obliteration and alteration of Georgian features from Georgian cultural heritage monuments in both regions, as a direct consequence of the Russian Federation’s ongoing occupation and “Russification” policy.”

Also, the OSCE PA “urges the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Russian military forces from the occupied Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia in line with the European Union-mediated ceasefire agreement of 12 August 2008 and stresses the need to continue active engagement in a peaceful resolution of the Russian Federation– Georgia conflict, in full respect of Georgia’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.”

The OSCE PA urges increased efforts to address the challenges faced by victims of war in other parts of the OSCE, including in particular Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and notes the long-lasting impacts that conflict and occupation have had on large parts of these populations.

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly was held from June 30 to July 4 in Vancouver, Canada. Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, led the Georgian permanent delegation.