RESOLUTION 1554 (29 JULY 2004) ADOPTED BY THE UN SECURITY
COUNCIL
The
Security Council,
Recalling
all
its relevant resolutions, in particular resolution 1524 of 30 January 2004,
Welcoming
the report
of the Secretary-General of 14 July 2004,
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 regular
high-level meetings of the Group of Friends in
Welcoming
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. Reaffirms the commitment of all Member States to the
sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of
2. 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
3. Reiterates its strong support for the document on "Basic
Principles for the Distribution of Competences between
4. 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;
5. Regrets also 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;
6. Calls on the parties to spare no efforts to overcome their
ongoing mutual mistrust and underlines
that the process of negotiation leading to a lasting political
settlement acceptable to both sides will require concessions from both sides;
7. Welcomes the commitment by the Georgian side to a peaceful
resolution of the conflict and calls on
both parties further to publicly dissociate themselves from all militant
rhetoric and demonstrations of support for military options;
8. Reminds all concerned to refrain from any action that might
impede the peace process;
9. Welcomes the convening of regular meetings of senior
representatives of the Group of Friends and the United Nations in Geneva and,
while regretting that the Abkhaz side did not participate in the last meeting, looks forward to the constructive
participation of the parties in the forthcoming meetings;
10. Urges the parties to participate in a more active, regular and
structured manner in the task forces established in the first Geneva meeting
(to address issues in the priority areas of economic cooperation, the return of
internally displaced persons and refugees, and political and security matters)
and complemented by the working groups established in Sochi
in March 2003, and reiterates that
results-oriented activities in these three priority areas remain key to
building common ground between the Georgian and Abkhaz sides and ultimately for
concluding meaningful negotiations on a comprehensive political settlement
based on the paper entitled "Basic Principles for the Distribution of
Competences between Tbilisi and Sukhumi" and its
transmittal letter;
11. Encourages the sides in that respect to continue their
discussion on security guarantees and welcomes
the meeting in
12. Calls again on the parties to take concrete steps to revitalize
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
confidence-building measures
in March 2001 (S/2001/242) and to implement the proposals agreed on that
occasion in a purposeful and cooperative manner, with a view to holding a
fourth conference on confidence-building measures;
13. 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;
14. Calls for the rapid finalization and signature of the letter of
intent on returns proposed by the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General and welcomes the
recent meetings with the participation of the SRSG and UNHCR of the Sochi working group on refugees and internally displaced
persons;
15. Reaffirms the unacceptability of the demographic changes
resulting from the conflict, reaffirms
also the inalienable right of all refugees and internally displaced
persons 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;
16. Recalls that the Abkhaz side bears a particular responsibility
to protect the returnees and to facilitate the return of the remaining
displaced population;
17. Welcomes the report of the mission led by the United Nations
Development Programme to the Gali
region (December 2003) to assess the feasibility of a sustainable recovery
process for the local population and potential returnees and to identify
further actions to improve the overall security conditions and ensure
sustainable return, and looks forward to
further consultations by UNDP and UNOMIG with the parties aimed at implementing
its recommendations;
18. Urges the parties once again to implement the recommendations of
the Joint Assessment Mission to the Gali sector
(November 2000), regrets that
there has been no progress to that effect despite the positive consideration by
the parties given to those recommendations in the first Geneva meeting and calls again 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;
19. Expresses concern that despite the start of the deployment of a
civilian police component as part of UNOMIG, as endorsed in resolution 1494
(2003) and agreed by the parties, the deployment of the remaining officers in
the Gali sector is still outstanding and calls on the Abkhaz side to allow for
a swift deployment of the police component in that region;
20. 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;
21. Welcomes the measures taken by the Georgian side to put an end
to the activities of illegal armed groups and encourages the maintenance of these efforts;
22. 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);
23. Welcomes the continuing relative calm in the Kodori
valley, condemns the killings
and abductions of civilians as well as the attack on a CIS checkpoint in the Gali sector;
24. Urges the parties to abide by the provisions of the protocols on
security issues in the Gali sector signed on 19
January 2004 and 8 October 2003, to continue their regular meetings and to
cooperate more closely with each other to improve security in the sector;
25. Calls on the Georgian side to provide comprehensive security
guarantees to allow for independent and regular monitoring of the situation in
the upper Kodori valley by joint UNOMIG and CIS
peacekeeping force patrols;
26. 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; strongly condemns in that respect the
repeated abductions of personnel of those missions in the past, deeply deplores that none of the
perpetrators have ever been identified or brought to justice and reiterates again that it is the
responsibility of the parties to end this impunity;
27. Urges the parties, once
again, to take all necessary steps to identify those responsible for the
shooting down of a UNOMIG helicopter on 8 October 2001, to bring them to justice,
and to inform the SRSG of the steps taken;
28. Decides to extend the mandate of UNOMIG for a new period
terminating on 31 January 2005, 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;
29. 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
30. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.
(www.un.org/docs)