Tbilisi’s Efforts to Secure UN Backing for its IDP Resolution

Georgian State Minister for Reintegration, Temur Yakobashvili, is in New York holding series of meeting in the UN headquarters to secure support of Tbilisi-sponsored UN General Assembly draft resolution reiterating right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return to Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Yakobashvili, whose visit started on August 17 and will last till August 30, also aims at presenting Tbilisi’s strategy on occupied territories and its action plan for engagement with residents of the two breakaway regions, the State Ministry for Reintegration said on Wednesday.

Russia has already criticized the draft resolution as Georgia’s "unconstructive" steps, which had "negatively affected the atmosphere" of recent round of Geneva talks on July 27.

Similar resolutions have been tabled by Tbilisi and passed by the UN General Assembly in in last two years as well; Georgia, however, tries to increase number of those UN-member states, which vote in favor of the resolution.

In 2008, UN General Assembly passed Georgian-sponsored resolution recognizing "the right of all refugees and internally displaced persons and their descendants, regardless of ethnicity" to return to Abkhazia with small margin of 14 votes in favor to 11 against; 105 abstained.

In 2009, resolution recognizing the right of return of IDPs and refugees in both breakaway regions was passed with 48 countries voting in favor; 19 – against and with 78 abstentions.

According to the State Ministry for Reintegration, Temur Yakobashvili met in New York with representatives from African Union; CARICOM, an organization of 15 Caribbean nations and Andean, a trade bloc of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru; as well as with officials from number of Pacific island nations.

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