RESOLUTION
1364 (31 JULY 2001) ADOPTED BY THE
UN SECURITY COUNCIL
The Security Council,
Recalling all its relevant resolutions, in
particular resolution 1339 (2001) of 31 January 2001, and the statements of its
President of 21 March 2001 (S/PRST/2001/9) and 24 April 2001 (S/PRST/2001/12),
Having considered the report of the
Secretary-General of 19 July 2001 (S/2001/713),
Recalling the conclusions of the
Stressing that the continued lack of progress on
key issues of a comprehensive settlement of the conflict in
Deeply concerned by the interruption of
negotiating activities following the killings and hostage-taking incidents in
April and May
Expressing its regrets at the cancellation of the
thirteenth session of the Coordinating Council of the Georgian and Abkhaz
sides, initially scheduled for 17 July 2001, due to the withdrawal of the
Abkhaz side following those incidents,
Recalling the relevant principles contained in the
Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel adopted on
9 December 1994,
Welcoming the important contributions that the
United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) and the Collective
Peacekeeping Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS peacekeeping
force) continue to make in stabilizing the situation in the zone of conflict, noting
that the working relationship between UNOMIG and the CIS peacekeeping force has
remained very close, and stressing the importance of close cooperation between
them in the performance of their respective mandates,
Noting the invitation of the Georgian Government
for the Security Council to dispatch a mission to the region,
1. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General of
19 July 2001;
2 Regrets the deterioration of the situation in
the zone of conflict due to the ongoing violence, hostage-taking incidents, the
rise in criminality and the activities of illegal armed groups in the conflict
zone, which constitutes a constant threat to the peace process;
3. 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. Recalls the intention of the Special
Representative to submit the draft paper on the question of the distribution of
constitutional competences between
5. Stresses the importance of early submission to
the parties of the paper as a starting point and significant catalyst for
negotiations on a comprehensive political settlement, and deeply regrets that
the Special Representative of the Secretary-General has not been in a position
to do so;
6. Stresses also the need to accelerate work on
the draft protocol on the return of the refugees to the Gali region and
measures for economic rehabilitation, as well as on the draft agreement on
peace and guarantees for the prevention and for the non-resumption of
hostilities;
7. Calls upon the parties, in particular the
Abkhaz side, to undertake immediate efforts to move beyond the impasse and to
engage into negotiations on the core political questions of the conflict and
all other outstanding issues in the United Nations-led peace process;
8. Welcomes the documents signed at the Yalta
meeting on confidence-building measures in March 2001 (S/2001/242), and urges the
Georgian and Abkhaz sides to implement the proposals agreed in those documents
in a purposeful and cooperative manner;
9. Calls upon the parties to resume their work in
the Coordinating Council and its relevant mechanisms as soon as possible;
10. Urges the parties to work together, through
more effective use of existing arrangements within the Coordinating Council
mechanisms, in order to clarify the incidents of 8, 9 and 22 July 2001, bring
about the release of the hostages still being held and bring the perpetrators
to justice;
11. Reaffirms the unacceptability of the
demographic changes resulting from the conflict, and 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);
12. Further urges the parties, in this context, to
address urgently and in a concerted manner, as a first step, the undefined and
insecure status of spontaneous returnees to the Gali district, which remains an
issue of serious concern;
13. Welcomes measures undertaken by the Government
of Georgia, the United Nations Development Programme, the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Office for the Coordinator of
Humanitarian Affairs and the World Bank to improve the situation of refugees
and internally displaced persons 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;
14. Recalls with satisfaction the joint assessment
mission to the Gali district, carried out under the aegis of the United
Nations, and looks forward to a discussion by the parties of practical steps to
implement the mission’s recommendations;
15. Deplores all violations of the Moscow
Agreement of 14 May 1994 on a Ceasefire and Separation of Forces (S/1994/583,
annex I), and notes with particular concern the military exercises conducted by
both parties in June and July
16. Expresses its concern at the disturbing
tendency by the parties to restrict the freedom of movement of UNOMIG, thereby
hindering the ability of the Mission to fulfil its mandate, urges both sides to
return immediately to full compliance with the Moscow Agreement, which remains
a cornerstone of the United Nations peace effort, and calls upon the parties to
ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations and other
international personnel;
17. Recalls that the Georgian and the Abkhaz sides
bear the primary responsibility for the security of UNOMIG, the CIS
peacekeeping force and other international personnel and for full compliance
with all security arrangements agreed between them to preclude any further aggravation
of the situation, and urges both parties to bring to justice the perpetrators
of all hostage-taking incidents, particularly the abduction of two UNOMIG
military observers in the Kodori Valley on 10 December 2000;
18. Reminds the Georgian side in particular to
uphold its commitment to put a stop to the activities of illegal armed groups
crossing into
19. Welcomes UNOMIG keeping its security
arrangements under constant review 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 January 2002, subject to a review by the Council
of the mandate of UNOMIG in the event of any changes that may be made in the
mandate or in the presence of the CIS peacekeeping force, and expresses its
intention to conduct a thorough review of the operation at the end of its current
mandate, in the light of steps taken by the parties to achieve a comprehensive
settlement;
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 Abkhazia, Georgia, and requests
also the Secretary-General to provide for a briefing within three months on the
progress of the political settlement, including on the status of the draft
paper his Special Representative intends to submit to the parties as referred
to in paragraph 4 above;
22. Decides to remain actively seized of the
matter.
(www.un.org/docs)