RESOLUTION 1462 (30
JANUARY 2003) ADOPTED BY THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL
The Security Council,
Recalling all its relevant resolutions, in particular resolution 1427 (2002) of 29
July 2002,
Having considered the report of the Secretary-General of 13
January 2003
(S/2003/39),
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,
Recalling its condemnation 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 the nine people on board, and deploring the fact that the perpetrators of that attack have
still not been identified,
Stressing that the continued lack of progress on key issues of a comprehensive
settlement of the conflict 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. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General
of 13 January 2003 (S/2003/39);
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
4. Reiterates, in particular, its
support for the document on “Basic Principles for the Distribution of
Competences between
5. 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;
6. Underlines further that the process
of negotiation leading to a lasting political settlement acceptable to both
sides will require concessions from both sides;
7. Deeply regrets, in particular, the
repeated 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;
8. Welcomes in that regard the
Secretary-General’s intention to invite senior representatives of the Group of
Friends to an informal brainstorming session on the way ahead;
9. Calls on the parties to spare no
efforts to overcome their ongoing mutual mistrust;
10. 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);
11. Welcomes the decrease of tensions 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 on a mutually acceptable
arrangement for security of the population in, and in the vicinity of, the Kodori Valley;
12. 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;
13. Strongly urges the parties to ensure
the necessary revitalization of the peace process in all its major aspects, to
resume 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;
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, 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, 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;
15. Urges once again the parties to
implement the recommendations of the joint assessment mission to the Gali district, carried out under the aegis of the United
Nations, welcomes the recent
visit of a United Nations police assessment team to Gali
and Zugdidi sectors, looks forward to its
recommendations, and 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;
16. 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;
17. We comes 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;
18. 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;
19. Welcomes constant review by UNOMIG of
its security arrangements in order to ensure the highest possible level of
security for its staff;
20. Decides to extend the mandate of
UNOMIG for a new period terminating on 31 July 2003, and to further review that
mandate unless a decision on the presence of the CIS peacekeeping force is
taken by 15 February 2003;
21. 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
22. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.
(www.un.org/docs)