Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Ossetia

On submitted by Georgia draft resolution on the status of displaced persons from Abkhazia and South Ossetia to United Nations General Assembly

Since 2009, the Government of Georgia had annually submitted to UN General Assembly its draft resolutions concerning displaced persons and refugees from Abhazia and South Ossetia. This year that annual resolution also is to be submitted to 67th plenary session of the UN General Assembly.

Under appeal to humanitarian problems Georgian side tries to impose on the International Community its extremely distorted vision of the refugee problems with an aim to strengthen its illegitimate claims over territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The authors of the draft resolution concealed the fact that those refugees and IDPs are the outcomes of the policy of Georgia and a result of wars launched by Georgia against South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 1989-1992, 1992-1993, 2001, 2004 and 2008.

The draft resolution does not mention more than one hundred thousand Ossetians, which had to flee from Georgia because of ethnic cleansing and which found refuge in South Ossetia and Russian Federation.
The draft resolution withholds the initiative of South Ossetia to return refugees to their places of origin in Leningor region regardless of their ethnicity. Above that the Georgian draft resolution ignores the fact of return Georgian refugees to Gali region of Abkhazia further to the initiative of the Abkhaz authorities.

The draft resolution not only neglects the existing political realities and the fact that South Ossetia and Abkhazia are independent states but has nothing to do with a good will to solve complicated humanitarian issues.
Adoption of that draft resolution will have a negative impact on the process of Geneva Discussions and delay resolution of existing humanitarian problems and further undermine the process of trust building between South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Georgia.

The key to solving the problem of refugees is not in diplomatic tricks aimed at propaganda effect but is in leaving the confrontation and signing a legally binding agreement on non use of force followed with a peace agreement between Georgia and Republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

 

Tskhinval, 13 June 2013

 

13.06.2013