During the 78th session, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the status of internally displaced persons from the occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali by a vote of 103 in favor to 9 against. China, a new strategic partner of Georgia, was among the 53 countries that did not participate in the voting and thus did not support the resolution. Notably, Armenia voted in favor of the resolution for the first time this year.
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Since 2008, Georgia has been submitting the resolution to the UN General Assembly. This year, in addition to Georgia, 63 countries became co-authors of the resolution, increasing the number of supporters of the document by three compared to last year.
"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," said the Georgian Foreign Affairs Ministry.
For the first time this year, Dennis Francis, the President of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, took part in the discussion of the resolution and delivered a speech at the session.
"I reiterate the Secretary-General's call for the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of all internally displaced persons to their homes, as well as the need to respect their property rights. It is clear that further steps are needed to address the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation and to promote freedom of movement and access to services for the ethnic Georgian population in conflict-affected areas. I once again confirm my support for Georgia's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity," said Denis Francis.
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 participants of the Geneva talks to intensify their efforts to improve the security and human rights situation in the regions of Georgia occupied by Russia, which, in turn, will contribute to the process of returning 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.
On June 4, during the discussion of the resolution, 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).
Belarus, Cuba, Burundi, North Korea, Mali, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria, and Zimbabwe did not support the resolution.
