S/PV.4269 Security Council

I should like to inform the Council that I have received a letter from the representative of Georgia, in which he requests 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.

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. The 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, document S/2001/59. Members of the Council also have before them document S/2001/93, which contains the text of a draft resolution prepared in the course of the Council’s prior consultations. I should like to draw the attention of the members of the Council to document S/2001/89, which contains the text of a letter dated 29 January 2001 from Georgia. I give the floor to the representative of Georgia.

Allow me first of all to congratulate you, Sir, on presiding over the Council this month and providing such excellent stewardship of the work of the Security Council. I should like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the Secretary-General and his Special Representative for Georgia, Mr. Dieter Boden, as well as the Group of Friends of the Secretary-General, for their tireless efforts in the process of achieving a comprehensive settlement of the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia. In the words of the Secretary-General, no number of resolutions or statements can change reality; only actions can do so. It is important to make sure that the draft resolution before the Council does not fail that test. In this context, I should like to make some brief comments regarding the draft resolution on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia. In his most recent report, the Secretary-General outlined the following essential issues for the peace process: determining the future status of Abkhazia within the State of Georgia; the improvement of the security situation in the zone of conflict; the return of refugees to the Gali district as a first step towards the return of all refugees and internally displaced persons; the economic rehabilitation of Abkhazia; and confidence-building measures. Indeed, the draft resolution extensively addresses all these issues. I should like to take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to the Government of Ukraine for its initiative to host, in Yalta, the third meeting on confidence-building measures. During this meeting, the Georgians and Abkhazians intend to address important outstanding issues relating to the settlement of the conflict, and the success of these discussions will make an important and timely contribution to the peace process. However, the introduction of a new paragraph — paragraph 4 — into the draft resolution’s operative part might jeopardize the upcoming meeting in Yalta and put the entire peace process on hold. As we have publicly stated on several occasions, the draft protocol and the draft agreement on peace and guarantees referred to in that paragraph are unacceptable to the Government of Georgia. The draft agreement on peace and guarantees is dubious in many respects. It is not referred to in the Secretary-General’s report; neither has its content ever been discussed by the members of the Security Council. Furthermore, I am not convinced that paragraph 4, as proposed, should not be interpreted as exerting Security Council pressure upon a United Nations Member State to enter into a peace agreement with a separate region, thus setting a dangerous precedent from the standpoint of international law. The parties to the conflict have already signed several agreements on renouncing the use of force in the settlement of the conflict. Therefore, we consider that the stress should be placed on the necessity of accelerating work on the issues of the return of refugees and internally displaced persons to the Gali district, the economic rehabilitation of the region and guarantees of the non-resumption of hostilities.

I thank the representative of Georgia for his kind words addressed to me. It is my understanding that the Security Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution (S/2001/93) before it. Unless I hear any objection, I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now. There being no objection, it is so decided.

There were 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 1339 (2001). The Security Council has thus concluded the present stage of its consideration of the item on its agenda.