OSCE PA adopts resolution on Georgian occupied regions amid ‘strong opposition’ by Russia
Russia opposed the resolution but failed to prevent it from being passed, Georgian MP Sophio Katsarava said.Photo: Parliament’s press office.
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The Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-Operation (OSCE PA) in Europe has adopted a resolution proposed by Georgian MP Sophio Katsarava on the security and human rights situation in Georgia’s Russian occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
The author of the resolution Katsarava says that Russia “strongly opposed the adoption of the resolution.”
The Luxembourg Declaration now includes the document which is very important for our country. It is a strong resolution reflecting grave security and human rights situation in the Georgian occupied territories,” the author of the resolution Sophio Katsarava said.
The author of the resolution MP Sophio Katsarava. Photo: Parliament press office.
The OSCE PA Political Affairs and Security Committee passed the resolution yesterday, and gave a green light to the main vote.
The resolution calls on Russia to withdraw its troops from Georgian territories and to fulfil the ceasefire agreement signed with Georgia after the Russia-Georgia 2008 war.
It reads that there is a severe human rights situation in the Georgian occupied regions, calls for the punishment of people accused of the murder of Georgian citizens in the occupied regions and urges for the presence of international missions in the breakaway areas.
With 50 votes in favour and five against, the OSCE PA’s Committee on Political Affairs and Security adopted the resolution initiated by the Georgian lawmaker Sophio Katsarava, despite Russia’s demand to exclude the resolution from the agenda.
The committee of Ministers' Deputies has assessed the initiative "as a vivid sign of Georgia’s firm commitment to promote confidence and interaction between the societies split by the dividing lines.”
The Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which is the principal decision making body of the organization, has hosted discussions on the occupation of Georgian territories yesterday.
The OSCE Group of Friends of Georgia has reaffirmed its ‘unwavering support’ to Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty at the 25th Ministerial Council meeting in Milan, Italy.
Georgia has accused Russia of systematically violating the conditions of the Open Skies Treaty and politicising the agreement for several years. Signed in 1992, the Open Skies Treaty permits each state-party to conduct short-notice, unarmed, reconnaissance flights over the others’ entire territories to collect data on military forces and activities.
Kari Henriksen, the South Caucasus Special Representative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, concluded a two-day visit to Georgia on Thursday, where she emphasised the importance of continued efforts to improve the lives of people affected by protracted conflicts on the territory of the country.