UNOMIG mandate extended: Council calls for progress

UN Chronicle, June, 1995

Calling upon the Georgian Government and the leaders of Abkhazia --a small Black Sea enclave in Georgia--to "reach substantive progress" in their negotiations the Security Council on 12 January extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 15 May 1995.

In unanimously adopting resolution 971 (1995), the Council also encouraged Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to continue efforts aimed at achieving a "comprehensive political settlement of the conflict, including on the political status of AbkhazIa, respecting fully the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Georgia".

The parties were also called upon to comply with their commitments under the 4 April 1994 Quadripartite Agreement on the voluntary return of refugees and displaced persons, and the Abkhaz side in particular was urged to "accelerate the process significantly".

The Secretary-General was asked to examine, within the existing UNOMIG mandate, the "possibility of additional steps to contribute to conditions conducive to the safe and orderly return of refugees and displaced persons".

The Council also decided to undertake, an the basis of a report to be submitted by 4 May 1995 and in light of any progress achieved towards a political settlement and the return of refugees and displaced persons, a "thorough review of the situation in Abkhazia, Republic of Georgia".

Deeply concerned over the "lack of progress regarding the return of refugees and displaced persons" and deploring the "continued obstruction" by the Abkhaz authorities, the Council on 17 March said it expected the parties to implement fully their obligations under the Quadripartite Agreement.

A `safe and orderly return' desired

In a statement by its President, Li Zhaoxing of China, the Council--noting that the cooperation between UNOMIG and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was "critical to the safe and orderly return of refugees and displaced persons"--also urged the Abkhaz authorities to agree to a timetable on the basis of that proposed by UNHCR.

It called upon the parties to "provide a secure environment, inter alia, to provide security for returning refugees and displaced persons and to ensure that international relief supplies can be delivered safely".

Although there had been "little overall progress in achieving a comprehensive political settlement" and a stalemate existed with respect to the return of refugees and displaced persons, the Council took note of the "movement which has occurred in the political talks" held in Geneva from 7 to 9 February.

The Geneva talks in February and the ensuing expert discussions in Moscow (15-17 February and 1-3 March) had been "constructive and businesslike. and a certain substantive momentum has been tentatively established", the Secretary-General reported (5/1995/181) on 6 March.

For the first time, there brad been a "productive dialogue" between the two sides, and common language had been found on "some of the many Issues related to the identification of a political status for Abkhazia acceptable to both sides", he said.

However, "core areas of disagreement" included: recognition of the territorial integrity of Georgia: characterization of the union State as federal in nature; the issue of a joint army; and "popular legitimization of an agreement".

In spite of a "generally unsatisfactory situation" in Abkhazia. the Secretary-General strongly believed that the presence of UNOMIG and the peace-keeping force of the Commonwealth of Independent States in the region had contributed greatly to preventing a resumption of hostilities and paved the way for continued political negotiations. "With patience and perseverance, solutions can be found, but it should be recognized that these two elements are not inexhaustible", he stressed.