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Resolution 1664 (2009)
Humanitarian consequences of the war between Georgia and Russia: follow-up given to Resolution 1648 (2009)
1. The Parliamentary
Assembly refers to its Resolution
1648 (2009) on the humanitarian consequences of the war between
Georgia and Russia. It considers that it is important to follow
up on this resolution by examining in more detail the particular
humanitarian situation in South Ossetia and some of the more recent developments
affecting the humanitarian situation in the rest of Georgia and
the conflict zones.
2. Of the 130 000 ethnic Georgians displaced during the conflict,
there remain approximately 26 000 still living in collective centres
and with host families in Tbilisi and other parts of Georgia. Of
approximately 33 000 to 38 000 persons of South Ossetian ethnic
origin displaced to North Ossetia during the conflict, approximately 1 200
persons have not as yet returned to South Ossetia.
3. The immediate humanitarian needs following the conflict were
met during the winter, and credit has to be given to the Government
of Georgia, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations
International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and many other
humanitarian agencies and international and national non-governmental organisations
(NGOs), as well as the many international donor countries and organisations
for their activities in favour of persons in the territory under
Georgian Government control. Credit must also be given to Russia for
the humanitarian assistance it has provided in particular in North
Ossetia and South Ossetia. Mention should also be made of the essential
contribution of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
for its humanitarian work out of Tbilisi, and also its work out
of Tskhinvali, where it has been the only international humanitarian
actor present in the region of South Ossetia.
4. Priority now needs to move from urgent humanitarian assistance
to durable solutions, recovery and development, including the rebuilding
of homes and structures destroyed during, and as a consequence of,
the war. Re-establishment and guarantees of gas supplies, water
supplies and electricity supplies are a priority.
5. Voluntary return in a safe and dignified manner of all internally
displaced persons and refugees needs to be promoted. This applies
to people affected by the recent conflict as well as those affected
by earlier conflicts.
6. In August 2008, the Government of the Russian Federation allocated
10 billion roubles to implement a plan of socio-economic development
for South Ossetia (2008-11). In accordance with the plan a certain
part of the work has already been carried out with the construction
of 46 facilities, out of 422 facilities to be completed, and 1.5
billion roubles having been utilised by the end of 2008. This will
help repair buildings and infrastructure and a new gas pipeline
will be built to Tskhinvali from North Ossetia. These steps will
help alleviate the difficult situation in which the people in South
Ossetia live, including over 3 000 people who have been housed in
collective centres since earlier conflicts.
7. Security concerns remain for many of those living in South
Ossetia, just as for those living in the rest of Georgia, and in
particular people living close to the administrative border. There
remains a great deal of insecurity and fear on all sides concerning
cross-administrative border incidents, hostage taking and also the possibility
of the resumption of armed hostilities.
8. The villages in South Ossetia, previously under Georgian control,
have been rased to the ground with the exception of a handful of
houses. The intention to cleanse the area of ethnic Georgians is
clear.
9. There is clear evidence of destruction of civilian property
and homes belonging to South Ossetians carried out by Georgian military
forces during the war.
10. The situation of ethnic Georgians in the occupied Akhalgori
district remains a major concern, and while these people are currently
not being forced to leave their homes through threats or violence,
they are facing many problems which, unless addressed, will lead
to a further exodus from this region. These problems include restrictions
on crossing the administrative border, the uncertainty about the
education system and education in the Georgian language, pressure
to acquire South Ossetian passports, acts of discrimination by individuals and
problems of access to health care.
11. The war damage, research and testimonies, which have become
clear since the end of the war, attest to human rights and international
humanitarian law violations having been committed on all sides and
need to be the subject of an independent international investigation.
In particular, there is a need to investigate allegations of indiscriminate
attacks on civilians, such as through the use of cluster bombs allegedly
used by both the Georgian and Russian sides, and also alleged attacks
on ethnic South-Ossetian civilians seeking to flee the combat zone
from Tskhinvali and ethnic Georgians seeking to flee the combat
zone, including near Eredvi.
12. The situation in Abkhazia also remains tense. The issues of
restricted crossings at the administrative border south of the Gali
district; rights, in particular the right to education in the mother
tongue, of ethnic Georgians living in a de facto minority situation
in the Gali district and the process of forcing people to acquire Abkhaz
passports, are particularly worrying. The recent incident in the
village of Otobaia, where 50 families were expelled but later allowed
to return, is also of great concern to the Assembly.
13. The future and role of international organisations in the
region remain uncertain. The Organization for Security and Co-operation
in Europe (OSCE) office in Georgia is being closed down, although
the mandate of the organisation’s unarmed military monitoring officers
has been renewed until 30 June 2009. In relation to Abkhazia, the
United Nations has managed to negotiate a mandate renewal for its
observer mission until 15 June 2009, but a new mandate will have
to be agreed. Russia and the de facto authorities prevent the European
Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) from entering the territories of
South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
14. Further steps need to be taken to establish a dialogue and
build trust between all parties to the conflict and the international
community. This can not be done if administrative borders are closed
tight and if communities are totally isolated. International organisations,
including the United Nations and the Council of Europe, need to
be present in these regions in order to promote dialogue and trust.
15. In view of the above-mentioned considerations, the Assembly
calls on Georgia, Russia and the de facto authorities in South Ossetia
and Abkhazia to:
15.1. fully implement
the recommendations made in Assembly Resolution 1648 (2009) on the humanitarian consequences of the war between
Georgia and Russia;
15.2. keep the administrative borders of Abkhazia and South
Ossetia open and remain flexible and practical concerning the issue
of access to the region from the north or the south, at least for
all humanitarian purposes;
15.3. ensure that all basic utilities, such as gas, electricity
and water, are not interrupted. This is particularly important with
respect to gas supplies to Tskhinvali and water supplies from South
Ossetia to villages south of the administrative border;
15.4. provide full and free access to all places of detention
by international monitoring mechanisms, including the European Committee
for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment (CPT) and the ICRC;
15.5. work to identify missing persons and tackle the problem
of hostage taking and prisoner exchanges, using as appropriate the
good offices of the different ombudsmen in the region and the Council
of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights;
15.6. support civil society initiatives, which are essential
for empowerment of the people, especially young people, and the
development of society in order to ensure a strong human rights
and humanitarian culture in the former conflict zones;
15.7. give priority, in the humanitarian context, to finding
a flexible and creative agreement on the mandate and role of international
organisations operating in the region in order to promote peace
and stability and to monitor the human rights and humanitarian situation.
More particularly in this respect:
15.7.1. agree to the continuation of the work carried out by the
United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia;
15.7.2. allow the OSCE unarmed military officers to continue their
monitoring mandate, and negotiate a renewed OSCE presence in the
region of South Ossetia;
15.7.3. strengthen the mandate of the EUMM and allow it access
to all conflict areas;
15.7.4. look into the need for a new internationalised peacekeeping
force in the region;
15.7.5. make a commitment to refrain from the use of force against
each other, which would strongly facilitate a comprehensive solution
to all the humanitarian problems that emerged as a result of the
August 2008 war.
16. The Assembly calls on the de facto authorities in South Ossetia
and Russia to:
16.1. ensure that
the 10 billion roubles allocated by the Russian Federation are utilised
in the most effective manner for the purposes of socio-economic
development in South Ossetia including rebuilding homes, moving
persons from collective centres, and repairing damaged and neglected
infrastructure;
16.2. take action against any persons having participated in
destruction or looting of housing and ensure that the homes, property,
belongings and physical safety of all persons of Georgian ethnic
origin are safeguarded and, in relation to homes and property, that
they are restored and wherever practical returned; if this is not
feasible, according to international standards and the will of the
claimant, compensation should be determined by an independent tribunal;
16.3. ensure the voluntary return of all displaced persons in
safety and in dignity, in accordance with international law;
16.4. refrain from any steps which will contribute to the further
departure of ethnic Georgians from, in particular, the occupied
Akhalgori district, and encourage the return of those who have already
departed. In this respect, steps should be taken to:
16.4.1. facilitate travel across the
southern administrative border by the local population in the Akhalgori
district;
16.4.2. help reconstruct any damaged or destroyed property in
the district;
16.4.3. guarantee the education rights, including education in
the mother tongue, of the ethnic Georgians living in the Akhalgori
district;
16.4.4. ensure that the population is not forced to acquire South
Ossetian passports;
16.4.5. avoid situations of statelessness;
16.4.6. combat all acts of discrimination, whether these are by
individuals or the authorities.
17. The Assembly calls on the de facto authorities in Abkhazia
and Russia to:
17.1. keep the southern
administrative border open, in particular for those living in or
wishing to return to the Gali district;
17.2. ensure that incidents such as the expulsion of inhabitants
from the village of Otobaia do not reoccur;
17.3. ensure voluntary returns in safety and in dignity, including
the return of persons to the Kodori valley;
17.4. ensure that the population is not forced to acquire Abkhazian
passports;
17.5. avoid situations of statelessness;
17.6. guarantee the education rights of the ethnic Georgians,
including education in their mother tongue.
18. The Assembly calls on Georgia to:
18.1. proceed with the revised state strategy for internally
displaced persons, in co-operation and consultation with the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other international
partners;
18.2. revise the Law on the Occupied Territories or refrain
from implementing it in a way which may be incompatible with international
human rights and international humanitarian law standards as identified by
the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission).
19. The Assembly calls on Russia to examine the housing and other
humanitarian needs of displaced persons and refugees from the recent
and earlier conflicts in Georgia, regardless of their ethnic origin,
and speed up the relocation of persons currently living in long-term
collective centres in North Ossetia.
20. The Assembly calls on the international community to redouble
its efforts to be present in South Ossetia and also in Abkhazia
so as to alleviate distrust by the local population and to enhance
the possibility for dialogue with all parties.
21. The Assembly encourages the Council of Europe Commissioner
for Human Rights to continue his important human rights work in
the region.
22. It invites the Council of Europe’s Development Bank to continue
to give support for humanitarian projects in the war affected region,
through the provision of loans or donations as appropriate.
23. The Assembly will continue to follow closely the implementation
of Resolution 1648 (2009) on the humanitarian consequences of the war between
Georgia and Russia and the present resolution, together with the
relevant report of the Monitoring Committee on the implementation
of the Resolutions 1633 (2008) and 1647 (2009).