RESOLUTION 1494 (30 JULY 2003) ADOPTED BY THE UN SECURITY
COUNCIL
The Security Council,
Recalling
all its relevant
resolutions, in particular resolution 1462 (2003) of 30 January 2003,
Having
considered the report of
the Secretary-General of 21 July 2003 (S/2003/751),
Recalling
the conclusions of the
Recalling
the relevant principles
contained in the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated
Personnel adopted on 9 December 1994,
Deploring
that the perpetrators
of the shooting down of a helicopter of the United Nations Observer Mission in
Georgia (UNOMIG) on 8 October 2001, which resulted in the death of nine people
on board, have still not been identified,
Stressing
that the continued lack
of progress on key issues of a comprehensive settlement of the conflict in
Welcoming, however, the positive momentum
given to the United Nations-led peace process by the two high-level meetings of
the Group of Friends in
Welcoming
also the important
contributions made by UNOMIG and the Collective Peacekeeping Forces of the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS peacekeeping force) in stabilizing the
situation in the zone of conflict, and stressing
its attachment to the close cooperation existing between them in the
performance of their respective mandates,
1. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General
of 21 July 2003 (S/2003/751);
2. Reaffirms the commitment of all Member States to the
sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of
3. Commends and strongly supports the sustained efforts of the Secretary-General
and his Special Representative, with the assistance of the Russian Federation
in its capacity as facilitator as well as of the Group of Friends of the
Secretary-General and of the OSCE, to promote the stabilization of the
situation and the achievement of a comprehensive political settlement, which
must include a settlement of the political status of Abkhazia within the State
of Georgia;
4. Stresses, in particular, its strong support for the document on
“Basic Principles for the Distribution of Competences between
5. Deeply regrets the continued refusal of the Abkhaz side to agree
to a discussion on the substance of this document, again strongly urges the Abkhaz side to
receive the document and its transmittal letter, urges both parties thereafter to give them full and open
consideration, and to engage in constructive negotiations on their substance,
and urges those having
influence with the parties to promote this outcome;
6. Regrets the lack of progress on the initiation of political
status negotiations, and recalls,
once again, that the purpose of these documents is to facilitate meaningful
negotiations between the parties, under the leadership of the United Nations,
on the status of Abkhazia within the State of Georgia, and is not an attempt to
impose or dictate any specific solution to the parties;
7. Underlines further that the process of negotiation leading to a
lasting political settlement acceptable to both sides will require concessions
from both sides;
8. Welcomes the convening of two meetings of senior representatives
of the Group of Friends in
9. Welcomes also the identification in the first Geneva meeting of
three sets of issues as key to advancing the peace process (economic
cooperation, the return of internally displaced persons and refugees, political
and security matters) and the following work on the substance of those issues,
including in bilateral working groups by Russia and Georgia as agreed by the
two Presidents in their meeting in Sochi in March
2003, and also in the initial high-level meeting of the parties on 15 July
2003, chaired by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and with
the participation of the Group of Friends;
10. Further welcomes the commitment of the parties to continue their
dialogue on economic cooperation, refugee returns as well as political and
security matters regularly and in a structured manner and their agreement to
join the Group of Friends again towards the end of the year to review progress
and explore future steps and encourages
them to act upon that commitment;
11. Calls on the parties to spare no efforts to overcome their
ongoing mutual mistrust;
12. Calls again on the parties to ensure the necessary
revitalization of the peace process in all its major aspects, including their
work in the Coordinating Council and its relevant mechanisms, to build on the
results of the Yalta meeting on confidence-building measures in March 2001
(S/2001/242), to implement the proposals agreed on that occasion in a
purposeful and cooperative manner, and to consider holding a fourth conference
on confidence-building measures;
13. Reminds all concerned to refrain from any action that might
impede the peace process;
14. Stresses the urgent need for progress on the question of the
refugees and internally displaced persons, calls on both sides to display a genuine commitment to make
returns the focus of special attention and to undertake this task in close
coordination with UNOMIG and consultations with UNHCR and the Group of Friends
and recalls the understanding in Sochi by Georgia and
the Russian Federation that the reopening of the Sochi-Tbilisi
railway will be undertaken in parallel with the return of refugees and
displaced persons, starting in the Gali district, reaffirms the unacceptability of the
demographic changes resulting from the conflict, reaffirms also the inalienable right of all refugees and IDPs affected by the conflict to return to their homes in
secure and dignified conditions, in accordance with international law and as
set out in the Quadripartite Agreement of 4 April 1994 (S/1994/397, annex II)
and the Yalta Declaration;
15. Recalls that the Abkhaz side bears a particular responsibility
to protect the returnees and to facilitate the return of the remaining
displaced population, and requests further
measures to be undertaken inter alia by the United
Nations Development Programme, the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees and the Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to create conditions conducive to the
return of refugees and internally displaced persons, including through
quick-impact projects, to develop their skills and to increase their
self-reliance, with full respect for their inalienable right to return to their
homes in secure and dignified conditions;
16. Welcomes the positive consideration by the parties given to the
recommendations of the joint assessment mission to the Gali
district, urges them once again
to implement those recommendations and in particular calls upon the Abkhaz side to agree to the opening as soon as
possible of the Gali branch of the human rights
office in Sukhumi and to provide security conditions
for its unhindered functioning;
17. Endorses the recommendations by the Secretary-General in his report
of 21 July 2003 (S/2003/751, para. 30) that a
civilian police component of 20 officers be added to UNOMIG, to strengthen its
capacity to carry out its mandate and in particular contribute to the creation
of conditions conducive to the safe and dignified return of internally
displaced persons and refugees, and welcomes
the commitment of the parties to implement the recommendations by the
security assessment mission of October to December 2002;
18. Calls in particular on the Abkhaz side to improve law enforcement
involving the local population and to address the lack of instruction in their
mother tongue for the ethnic Georgian population;
19. Condemns any violations of the provisions of
the Moscow Agreement of 14 May 1994 on a Ceasefire and Separation of Forces
(S/1994/583, annex I);
20. Calls on both parties publicly to dissociate themselves from
militant rhetoric and demonstrations of support for military options and for
the activities of illegal armed groups, and encourages the Georgian side in particular
to continue its efforts to put an end to the activities of illegal armed
groups;
21. Welcomes the relative calm in the Kodori
Valley and the intention reaffirmed by the parties to resolve the situation
peacefully, recalls its strong support to the protocol signed by the two sides
on 2 April 2002 regarding the situation in the Kodori
Valley, calls on both sides, and in particular the Georgian side, to continue
to fully implement this protocol, and recognizes the legitimate security
concerns of the civilian populations in the area, calls on the political
leaders in Tbilisi and Sukhumi to observe security
agreements, and calls on both sides to spare no efforts to agree to a mutually
acceptable arrangement for security of the population in, and in the vicinity
of, the Kodori Valley;
22. Strongly condemns, however, the abduction of four UNOMIG
personnel of 5 June 2003, which is the sixth hostage taking since the
establishment of the mission, deeply
deplores that none of the perpetrators have ever been identified or
brought to justice and supports the
Secretary-General’s call that this impunity must end;
23. Welcomes the additional safeguards for helicopter flights
instituted in response to the shooting down of a UNOMIG helicopter on 8 October
2001, calls, once again, on the
parties to take all necessary steps to identify those responsible for the
incident, to bring them to justice, and to inform the Special Representative on
the implementation of these steps;
24. Calls on the Georgian side to continue to improve security for
joint UNOMIG and CIS peacekeeping force patrols in the Kodori
Valley to enable them to monitor the situation independently and regularly;
25. Underlines that it is the primary responsibility of both sides
to provide appropriate security and to ensure the freedom of movement of
UNOMIG, the CIS peacekeeping force and other international personnel;
26. Welcomes the constant review by UNOMIG of its security
arrangements in order to ensure the highest possible level of security for its
staff;
27. Decides to extend the mandate of UNOMIG for a new period
terminating on 31 January 2004, subject to a review as appropriate of its
mandate by the Council in the event of changes in the mandate of the CIS
peacekeeping force;
28. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to keep the Council
regularly informed and to report three months from the date of the adoption of
this resolution on the situation in
29. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.
(www.un.org/docs)