General Assembly Adopts Resolution Recognizing Right of Return for Refugees

June 1 - The General Assembly recognized today the right of return of all internally displaced persons and refugees in Georgia and their descendants, regardless of ethnicity, to their homes throughout that country, including Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia.

 By a recorded vote of 80 in favour  to 14 against, with 61 abstentions, the Assembly adopted a resolution on the status of internally displaced persons and refugees from those areas, stressing the need to respect their property rights and underlining the urgent need for unimpeded humanitarian access to all those residing in conflict-affected areas of Georgia.

The Assembly called on all participants in the Geneva International Discussions mandated by the 2008 ceasefire agreement, to intensify efforts to establish peace, commit to enhanced confidence-building measures, take immediate steps to ensure respect for human rights, and create secure security conditions for the voluntary, safe, dignified and unhindered return of all internally displaced persons and refugees to their homes.

Kaha Imnadze (Georgia) introduced the resolution, underlining its aim to galvanize international support for the rights of displaced people in Georgia, the overwhelming majority of whom had indicated their wish to voluntarily return.  The resolution stood for three principles:  securing the rights of the displaced, the unacceptability of forced demographic changes, and the need for unimpeded humanitarian access. More: https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/ga11919.doc.htm

Source: United Nations office Georgia