Georgia

Allow me at the outset to congratulate the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, Mr. Didier Opertti, on his election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. This decision, to which Georgia acceded with pleasure, is a fitting recognition of Uruguay’s high international authority and a well-deserved tribute to Mr. Opertti’s personal qualities and profound experience. At the same time, I am honoured to have the opportunity to express my gratitude to the President of the General Assembly at its fifty-second session, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko of Ukraine, for his significant contributions to the successful outcome of the previous session. Today, as the second millennium is coming to a close, an inevitable question pops up: What will the next, the third, millennium be like? Indeed, for the first time since the end of the global stand-off, the opportunity has emerged to create a qualitatively new world order based 14 upon the comprehensive development of free and independent States. Allow me to share our observations on some of the important issues that we face. We have repeatedly underscored the threat to global stability posed by the spread of the disease of aggressive separatism and the ineffectiveness of our joint efforts to cope with it. For five years now, the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia, has been on the agendas of a number of international forums. The need to resolve this conflict within the framework of the territorial integrity of Georgia and to ensure the speedy return of hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons has been reiterated more than once. However, we have to admit that real progress towards the settlement of this conflict has not been accomplished. Moreover, in May 1998, as a result of the punitive operation carried out by the Abkhaz side in the Gali region of Abkhazia, Georgia, more than 60 civilians were killed, about 1,400 houses burned and over 40,000 peaceful civilians expelled once again from their land. The vigorous efforts of the Georgian Government at that point averted full-scale confrontation and bloodshed. The tragedy in the Gali region was preceded by the unfulfilled resolutions of the Security Council and by decisions on the “ethnic cleansing” of the Georgian population in Abkhazia, Georgia, adopted at the Budapest and Lisbon summits of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Thus, we are once again confronted by the acute problem of the implementation of decisions taken by the international community. The Government of Georgia remains committed to a peaceful solution of the conflict and applies only political means, to which there is no reasonable alternative. In order to add new impetus to the peace process, we have welcomed the creation and development of the Geneva process, under the auspices of the United Nations and with the participation of the Russian Federation as facilitator, the Friends of the Secretary-General and the OSCE. More active work should be conducted in the framework of the Geneva process on the question of the political status of Abkhazia within the Georgian State. In our view, it is urgent to fully resume the functioning of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia and, in accordance with its mandate, to ensure the freedom of its activities. The matter of utmost importance is the safety of UNOMIG personnel in the conflict zone. Their vulnerability was again proved by the recent armed attack against four members of UNOMIG in Sukhumi. In this regard, we wish to emphasize the importance of the proposal of the Secretary-General concerning the deployment of self-protection units. Unfortunately, this question has turned into a subject of endless discussion. Indeed, it is unclear how the deployment of a self- protection unit would contradict the interests of any of the parties to the conflict or any other State, when this step is intended only to facilitate UNOMIG’s intensive monitoring and would contribute to peace in the region. While categorically condemning terrorist acts, regardless of the motives or where these acts might come from, we support the creation of joint investigative teams with clearly defined mandates of action. The turn of events in Abkhazia, Georgia, has shown that some important aspects should be touched upon. First among these is the development of economic programmes of post-conflict peace-building to promote the peace process. We already have an example of the successful implementation of such an approach in the settlement of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. The implementation of the economic programme in close cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has brought about the realization of a number of important projects for the reconstruction of the social and economic infrastructure in the conflict zone and, most importantly, has activated the mechanism of the return of refugees to their homes. Recently, we have embarked upon the implementation of the subsequent stage of the programme, which has been financed by the European Union. Secondly, for the success of the peace process, we deem it necessary to formulate and effectively implement confidence-building measures between the parties to the conflict. To this end, and for the implementation of the measures formulated and the coordination of work in this direction, we believe it would be reasonable to actively engage the joint United Nations-Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Human Rights Office in Sukhumi. The third aspect is the grave humanitarian situation existing in internal conflicts, such as the one in Abkhazia, Georgia. I refer to the fate of hundreds of thousands of 15 refugees and internally displaced persons. We regret that the rights of the internally displaced persons are not protected by an international act. President Shevardnadze has called upon the world community to mark 1998, the year of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by elaborating a comprehensive plan for the creation of an effective international mechanism for the protection of the rights of internally displaced persons throughout the world, including their political rights, the right to protect their property and the right to return to their homes. In this regard, we actively support the proposal of the Secretary- General concerning the creation of an organizational structure for the protection of the rights of displaced persons. When discussing the creation of a global model of security for the twenty-first century, we have to admit that the post-confrontational world is not yet secure, and the problem of separatism is not the only threat against which we have to consolidate our efforts. We cannot but express our concern over the expansion of the zone of nuclear proliferation. The nuclear tests in South Asia have clearly made this threat far more ominous. Therefore, we call upon all States to display goodwill and a commitment to peace, and to join the Treaty on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Efforts to quell the hotbeds of the so-called local conflicts have so far been unsuccessful. Georgia is deeply concerned at the developments in Kosovo, and especially in the north Caucasus region, namely, in Chechnya, Dagestan and across the border of North Ossetia and Ingushetia. Terrorism, with all its bloody manifestations, poses a threat both to the region and to the world as a whole. Unfortunately, Georgia has also had its fair share of terrorism. The assassination attempt against the President of Georgia was aimed at the destabilization of the country and of the entire region. These and the recent terrorist acts against the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania require an intensification in the fight against terrorism. Therefore, we must actively support any efforts to do away with this evil. As we usher in the next millennium, it is impossible not to touch upon the problems of economic development and economic security. The process of economic globalization raises the question of a new role for the United Nations as a universal institution which would effectively contribute to the development of national economies and ensure economic security at both the regional and the global level. All this is especially urgent for the post-Communist countries with economies in transition. Since restoring its statehood in 1991, Georgia has been on a difficult road, having gone from chaos to stability and from total economic collapse to development. This became possible through democratic change and economic reforms. We have come to believe that the successful transition of the newly independent States to the market economy depends entirely on their integration into the international economic system through regional and interregional cooperation. A clear example of the implementation of a large-scale programme of economic cooperation is the revival of historic Silk Road. The Summit of the Transport Corridor: Europe-Caucasia-Asia (TRACECA) member States, held recently at Baku, Azerbaijan, emphasized that the idea of an alternative roadway for the Central Asian region through the south Caucasian corridor has already turned into a significant system stretching across the whole Euro-Asian continent. The economic cooperation of the Black Sea basin countries is also very important. This area was recently transformed into a regional economic organization, having impressive potential and far-reaching plans. In the course of the formation of a new world order, the main responsibility for international peace and security rests with the United Nations. An important step would be the reform of the Security Council in accordance with the new geopolitical realities. In this regard, we reiterate our position concerning the inclusion of Germany and Japan among the permanent members of the Council. We also support the increase in the number of non-permanent seats, providing one for the States of the Eastern European region. We also advocate more transparency in the work of the Security Council, including participation in its closed meetings by those non-member States whose problems happen to be the subject of the Council’s discussions. We are aware of the importance the United Nations attaches to the timely contributions of its Member States. In this regard, despite its economic constraints, Georgia will do everything in its capacity to cover its indebtedness to the Organization. 16 Special attention should be accorded to the further development of United Nations peacekeeping operations. We believe that the time has come to further develop and institutionalize the system of standby arrangements. The creation of the Multinational United Nations Standby Forces High-Readiness Brigade can play an important role in preserving the peace. The same is true of the establishment of a well-equipped headquarters from which to identify potential hotbeds of tension. Georgia has always advocated the establishment of an International Criminal Court and actively participated in the Rome Conference. We believe that the establishment of this permanent jurisdictional body will ensure that gross violations of human rights and crimes against humanity no longer go unpunished. Like many previous speakers, in my statement I have resorted to such expressions as “new challenges” and “new threats” in the post-confrontational world. But at the same time, the new era opens before us new and boundless horizons and creates new opportunities in the formation of a new world order. We believe that only by joint efforts and common political will can we cope with these challenges and realize all these opportunities.