NATO PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBL. RESOLUTION 382 on the situation in Georgia

The Assembly,

1. Commending Georgian authorities on their efforts to further democratic reforms and, in particular, to fight corruption, build democratic institutions and engage opposition in decision‑making;

2. Acknowledging the significant contribution of Georgia to the NATO mission in Afghanistan;

3. Welcoming the conduct of competitive and democratic local elections on 30 May 2010, which, according to international observers, marked progress towards meeting OSCE and Council of Europe commitments, despite significant remaining shortcomings;

4. Welcoming also the process of constitutional reform, but regretting that full use was not made of the advisory mechanism of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe;

5. Deeply concerned by the humanitarian situation in Georgia’s occupied territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as the ongoing denial of the right of return to Georgian populations displaced from the two regions;

6. Welcoming Russia’s withdrawal of its troops from the Perevi area, but concerned about the ongoing tightening by Russian FSB Border Troops of procedures for crossing the Administrative Border Line;

7. Deeply concerned about the continuing failure by the Russian Federation to comply fully with the provisions of the EU-brokered Ceasefire Agreement, and particularly its failure to withdraw to the positions it held before the conflict;

8. Profoundly disturbed by the continued absence of international monitoring mechanisms inside the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia following Russia’s blocking of the extension of the OSCE and UN missions in Georgia;

9. Welcoming the important role that the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia continues to play in monitoring implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement and in facilitating contacts between the sides;

10. Welcoming Georgia’s State Strategy on Occupied Territories and the Action Plan for Engagement, both of which aim to engage communities in the two regions through constructive projects;

11. Reaffirming its attachment to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia, as stated also in numerous UNSC Resolutions on the situation in Georgia;

12. URGES member governments and parliaments of the North Atlantic Alliance to reaffirm NATO’s open door policy, the Bucharest Summit Declaration that Georgia will become a member of NATO, as well as the principle that all candidates should be judged on their own merits;

13. URGES all parties in the conflict:

a. to abide by the principles of international law and implement fully the EU-brokered Ceasefire;

b. to make full use of the Geneva Process, as the only international forum bringing together all sides;

c. to co-operate fully with the EUMM, including through participation in the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism;

14. URGES the government and parliament of the Russian Federation, as well as the de facto authorities of Abkhazia, Georgia, and South Ossetia, Georgia:

a. to reverse the results of what has been described as ethnic cleansing by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Conflict in Georgia as well as by other international documents and allow the safe and dignified return of all internally displaced persons to their homes;

b. to allow EUMM unimpeded access to the territory of the two regions;

c. to ensure access to international humanitarian aid to those affected;

15. URGES the European Union:

a. to reaffirm its commitment to the agreement on the EUMM regarding access for the EUMM to both sides of the Administrative Border Line as agreed between the then President of the European Council, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the Russian President, Dmitri Medvedev;

b. to put the implementation of this agreement on the agenda of the coming EU-Russia Summit; and,

16. URGES the government and parliament of Georgia to continue efforts to strengthen the rule of law and promote democratic reforms in all areas, particularly those that further engage the opposition.

Presented by the Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security and adopted by the Plenary Assembly on Tuesday 16 November 2010, Warsaw, Poland

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