S/PV.3304 Security Council

I should like to inform the Security Council that I have received a letter from the representative of Georgia in which he requested to be invited to participate in the discussion of the item on the Council’s agenda. In conformity with the usual practice, I propose, with the consent of the Council, to invite that representative to participate in the discussion without the right to vote, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure. There being no objection, it is so decided. At the invitation of the President, Mr. Chkheidze (Georgia) took a place at the Council table.

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The Security Council is meeting in accordance with the understanding reached in its prior consultations. Members of the Council have before them the report of the Secretary-General concerning the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia; that report is contained in document S/26646 and Add.1. Members of the Council also have before them document S/26688, which contains the text of the draft resolution prepared in the course of the Council’s prior consultations. It is my understanding that the Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. If I hear no objection, I shall take it that that is the case. There being no objection, it is so decided. I now put to the vote the draft resolution in document S/26688. A vote was taken by show of hands. In favour: Brazil, Cape Verde, China, Djibouti, France, Hungary, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Spain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Venezuela

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has therefore been adopted unanimously as resolution 881 (1993). I shall now call on those members of the Council who wish to make statements following the voting. Mr. RICHARDSON (United Kingdom): First, Sir, our congratulations go to you on assuming the presidency of the Council for this month, together with our warmest thanks to Ambassador Sardenberg of Brazil for the very skilful way in which he presided over the Council in the extremely busy month of October. My delegation was glad to be able to support the resolution which has just been adopted. We believe it is entirely right that the Security Council should be devoting such close attention to the situation in Georgia. It is also right that the action taken by the United Nations should take the form not just of resolutions and discussions in New York but also of practical action in the form of the continued limited deployment of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG), with the revised mandate that the Council has just authorized. Let me add that we are very much aware of the concern of the Government of Georgia to highlight the need for respect for human rights in Georgia. We fully endorse this, and believe that paragraph 3 of the resolution makes very clear the importance that the international community attaches to this point. We believe that the onus is now on the parties to work harder and quicker for a peace settlement. We are very glad that the two parties have agreed to meet in Geneva in November. The international community expects to see concrete evidence of a serious attempt to make progress. None of the parties should interpret operative paragraph 5 as implying that UNOMIG will in practice remain deployed whatever happens at the negotiating table. We continue to hope, however, that it will be possible before long for the Secretary-General to report to the Council that the situation in Georgia merits a further deployment of UNOMIG, and we therefore welcome the request that the Secretary-General should now take planning steps to allow any such future deployment to take place without delay.

I thank the representative of the United Kingdom for the kind words he addressed to me. Mr. LADSOUS (France) (interpretation from French): As you are aware, Mr. President, France is particularly dedicated to the search for a comprehensive political settlement of the conflict in Abkhazia, with respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia. France therefore fully supports the efforts made by the Secretary-General and his Special Envoy to achieve a negotiated solution between the parties, which it encourages to participate in the first round of negotiations to begin in Geneva at the end of November under the aegis of the United Nations. (Mr. Ladsous, France) The role of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) in support of this process is of particular importance. The military developments which took place on the ground in September, in violation of the Sochi agreement of 27 July, have in fact made UNOMIG’s mandate obsolete. There is therefore a need to revise that mandate, and my delegation welcomes the resolution which has just been adopted. The maintenance of a UNOMIG presence in Georgia until 31 January 1994, at the very latest, with a maximum complement of five observers, will allow it - in accordance with its new interim mandate - to maintain contact with the parties and to furnish the Secretary-General and our Council with independent information on events that might influence the process of a political solution. My delegation is also pleased that the resolution makes the possible extension of UNOMIG’s mandate beyond 31 January 1994 conditional on progress in the negotiation process. It is clear that the justification for UNOMIG lies in its potential usefulness for the peace process. Finally, allow me to express my Government’s great concern over the human rights violations perpetrated during this conflict. My delegation awaits the conclusions of the fact-finding mission sent by the Secretary-General. Mrs. ALBRIGHT (United States of America): My Government welcomes the passage of this resolution. We would, of course, have preferred that we now be considering the continuation of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) in more favourable circumstances - a durable, meaningful cease-fire, voluntarily agreed to by both parties. That, unfortunately, is not the case, because of the unjustified, unilateral Abkhaz violation of the cease-fire agreement of 27 July. None the less, the United States sees in this resolution affirmation of the continuing United Nations commitment to resolution of the conflict in keeping with the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia, which we unreservedly support. UNOMIG, with a new mandate and reduced in size, can still play a constructive role in monitoring the situation on the ground and helping to create an atmosphere conducive to a negotiated settlement. We commend the tireless efforts of the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, Ambassador Brunner, and we look forward to the talks scheduled for later this month. While we recognize that a negotiated resolution of this conflict is the only way to assure a just and lasting peace and the security that a beleaguered population desperately needs, we must continue our urgent efforts to provide relief to the innocent victims. We must also keep in mind the responsibility for this suffering, about which we shall learn more when the Secretary-General’s fact-finding mission submits its report. Mr. VORONTSOV (Russian Federation) (interpretation from Russian): The delegation of the Russian Federation fully supports the resolution just adopted by the Security Council, attaching great importance to the continued presence of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG). Such a presence is extremely important, both for the resolution of the practical issues provided for in its interim mandate and for the promotion of the peace process in order to achieve a comprehensive political settlement to the Abkhaz conflict. We attach particular importance to the Security Council’s decision to request the Secretary-General to take in advance, and very soon, planning steps which would enable, upon a further decision by the Council, prompt deployment of additional personnel within the originally authorized strength of UNOMIG. The United Nations must be in a position to react immediately to any positive changes in the situation and to help make them stable and ultimately irreversible. We also believe it important that the Security Council support the efforts of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Georgia, in cooperation with the Chairman-in-Office of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), and with the assistance of the Russian Federation as facilitator, to carry forward the peace process, and in particular to bring both parties together in late November in Geneva. Close cooperation between the United Nations and the CSCE in promoting a settlement of the Abkhaz conflict is also very important. In view of the complexity of this issue, only a harmonious combination of the efforts of the United Nations, the CSCE and other interested parties, and a close interaction between them, can assure the irreversibility of the peace process. The Russian Federation, for its part, will attempt to do everything in its power to bring about a speedy political settlement of the Abkhaz conflict and a stabilization of the situation in the Republic of Georgia as a whole.

There are no further speakers on my list. The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda. The meeting rose at 1 p.m. (Mrs. Albright, United States)