The UN General Assembly within its 74th session has adopted the Resolution on „Status of Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees from Abkhazia, Georgia and the Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, Georgia” that was initiated by Georgia and 53 sponsoring states.

Today #UNGA reaffirmed the Right of Return by adopting Resolution on “Status of Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees from Abkhazia, #Georgia and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia” with 84 votes in favour and 53 co-sponsors. https://t.co/aJf1k8dPb7 pic.twitter.com/Jg0HsIXoXE

— GeorgiaUN (@GeorgiaUN) September 3, 2020

The General Assembly has been adopting the Resolution consecutively since 2008, reaffirming the fundamental rights of forcefully displaced persons, first and foremost their right of voluntary, safe and dignified return to their homes, noted Georgian Foreign Ministry (MFA).

Adoption of the Resolution during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the work of the United Nations, highlights even stronger the importance of the issue and the urgency of the humanitarian message, stressed MFA.

The Resolution condemns the forced demographic changes in the occupied regions, emphasizes the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees, regardless of their ethnicity, to a safe and dignified return to their places of origin, and focuses upon the need to fully respect and protect their property rights. The Resolution reiterates the importance of unimpeded humanitarian access in the regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali Region.

“Apart from the humanitarian context, the Resolution has a practical significance as it tasks the UN Secretary-General to prepare an annual report on the situation of internally displaced persons residing in Georgia as well as on the implementation of this resolution. The above-mentioned has even greater importance in the light of the deploring human right situation in the occupied territories in the absence of international human rights monitoring mechanisms, which constitutes one of the impediments to the safe and dignified return of forcefully displaced persons,” stated the Ministry.

The Resolution calls upon the participants of the Geneva International Discussions to reinvigorate their efforts to ensure security and human rights protection in the occupied regions, which in turn will facilitate the return of IDPs and refugees to their homes.

Adoption of the Resolution by the General Assembly highlights that the situation in Georgia still remains on the agenda of the world’s most important forum.

MFA pointed out that the diplomatic service of Georgia will continue its effort on the international arena to protect the fundamental rights of IDPs and refugees who were displaced as a result of ethnic cleansing, as this issue, that implies the full de-occupation of Georgia’s Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions and ensuring the safe and dignified return of the internally displaced persons, is and will continue to be the main priority of Georgian Government until its final resolution.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia would like to express its sincere gratitude to all states that have supported and co-sponsored the resolution on the right of return of the IDPs and refugees and thereby once again expressed their solidarity to each and every forcibly displaced person.