Adopted on July 3 the UN General Assembly draft resolution "Situation with the Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees from Abkhazia, Georgia and Tskhinval district / South Ossetia, Georgia" contribute neither to any progress on the issue of refugees, nor to the internal stability in the region.
This has been declared by the South Ossetian Presidential Envoy for post-conflict settlement Murat Dzhioev in his interview to IA "Res".
He said the purpose of the document’s authors is far from the values of democracy and observance of human rights.
"The fourth year running the Georgian authorities with maniacal persistence have been submitting to the UN General Assembly the draft resolution – which, à la lettre is similar to the one of last year. They have primarily a political goal - to reflect in the document, as if South Ossetia and Abkhazia are parts of Georgia, and the solution of the refugee problem and internally displaced persons - is an internal affair of Georgia ", - said Dzhioev.
But this, in his opinion, is far from reality. South Ossetia was never part of the Georgian state, recognized by the international community after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Moreover, the envoy has underlined, since 2008 the Republic of South Ossetia is recognized as an independent state.
"The authors of the document cannot even part with the syndrome of zviadizm and continue to use against South Ossetia an abusive name "The Tskhinval region ", devised by Gamsakhurdia " - said Dzhioev.
He stressed that the resolution is inherently far from universal standards and observance of human rights and rights of refugees, because it actually deals only with ethnic Georgians who found themselves in a position of refugees through fault of the Georgian authorities.
"Many thousands of people, expelled from Georgia, remain out of sight of the authors of the resolution, which cannot be objective, because it does not absolutely take into account the position of South Ossetia and Abkhazia which are not presented to the UN and are not invited to the session of the General Assembly", - said the Presidential Envoy.
He recalled that in accordance with the agreements between the presidents of Russia and France, Dmitry Medvedev and Nicolas Sarkozy on August 12, 2008, the problem of refugees and displaced persons, along with the issues of security and humanitarian sphere was being considered at the Geneva discussions, where the UN serves as co- moderator and where have been competently represented South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
"However, Georgia's actions in transferring the discussion of refugee issues to other format, bypassing the Geneva discussions at the meeting of General Assembly, almost put an end to discussions on these issues at the Geneva discussions. So it is cynical to appeal to the participants of the discussions to intensify its efforts, including the return of refugees "- stressed Dzhioev.
He has noted that no one is against the right of refugees to return to their former places of residence. However, according to Plenipotentiary Ambassador, this return must be voluntary, dignified and safe in accordance with the international standards.
"Andprior to demanding the development of some schedule, it is necessary to create the corresponding conditions," - he added.
In addition, according to Dzhioev, voting for adoption of the resolution showed that the majority of countries had clearly expressed their disapproval by voting against it, abstaining or not taking part in the vote.
Those countries, according to the Plenipotentiary Ambassador, who voted in favor of it, once again demonstrated the viability of the policy of "double standards", or indifference to the true nature of the problem.
It should be reminded that the UN General Assembly adopted the draft resolution on Abkhazia and South Ossetia on the problem of refugees and displaced persons, put to the vote by Georgia. The document, introduced by Tbilisi, calls for "all participants of the Geneva discussions to intensify its efforts to establish lasting peace, to a more effective confidence-building measures and to take immediate steps to ensure observation of human rights and create favorable security conditions, conducive to the voluntary, safe, dignified and unhindered return of all internally displaced persons to their places of origin."
Besides, the text of the resolution indicates the need for developing the return schedule for the displaced persons and ensuring regular access of humanitarian aid.
It should be noted that 60 countries voted for adoption of the resolution, against - 15, 82 states - abstained. The UN General Assembly resolutions are advisory in nature and have no legal force.
