OSCE Parliamentary Assembly endorses amendments to resolution on Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Tuesday endorsed amendments to the resolution on the Russian-occupied territories of Georgia that had been initiated by Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the European Integration Committee of the Georgian Parliament.

The meeting of the Assembly in Vancouver, Canada reviewed the “difficult” situation created in the OSCE area in terms of security and “current topical issues”, with the Georgian official emphasising the challenges and threats facing her country, the Georgian Parliament said.

Two amendments were made to the Political Affairs and Security Committee's resolution on Botchorishvili’s initiative concerning the challenges related to the territorial integrity of Georgia.

It specifically noted the “right of hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons to return to their homes [in the occupied regions] in a safe and dignified manner, and the issue of enforcement of the decision of the International Criminal Court regarding Georgia”, in reference to the ICC ruling that issued arrest warrants against three de facto officials of the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region in a case of torture and ill-treatment of Georgian civilians during the 2008 war. 

The resolution also stressed the necessity of “immediate and unconditional” withdrawal of Russian armed forces from the occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions of Georgia.

The document also emphasised the need to continue “active engagement” for a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Georgia conflict, under conditions of full protection of the principle of Georgia's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.