| UN Security Council Resolution 1311 | |
|---|---|
Georgia | |
| Date | 28 July 2000 |
| Meeting no. | 4,179 |
| Code | S/RES/1311 (Document) |
| Subject | The situation in Georgia |
Voting summary | 15 voted for None voted against None abstained |
| Result | Adopted |
| Security Council composition | |
Permanent members | |
Non-permanent members | |
United Nations Security Council resolution 1311, adopted unanimously on 28 July 2000, after reaffirming all resolutions on Georgia, particularly resolutions 1287 (1999) and 1308 (2000), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 31 January 2001. [1]
A United Nations Security Council resolution is a UN resolution adopted by the fifteen members of the Security Council; the UN body charged with "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security".
Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital and largest city is Tbilisi. Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 square kilometres (26,911 sq mi), and its 2017 population is about 3.718 million. Georgia is a unitary semi-presidential republic, with the government elected through a representative democracy.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1287, adopted unanimously on 31 January 2000, after reaffirming all resolutions on Georgia, particularly Resolution 1255 (1999), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 31 July 2000.
Contents
The Security Council emphasised the unacceptability of the lack of progress with key issues relating to the Abkhazia conflict. It recalled that both sides should meet every two months. On 11 July 2000 the parties signed a protocol on the stabilisation of the security zone, to work harder on the return of refugees to the Gali region and economic recovery.
Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a de facto and partially recognized republic on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, south of the Greater Caucasus mountains, in northwestern Georgia. It covers 8,660 square kilometres (3,340 sq mi) and has a population of around 240,000. Its capital is Sukhumi and it is recognised as a state by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria. While Georgia lacks control over Abkhazia, the Georgian government and most United Nations member states consider Abkhazia legally part of Georgia, whose constitution designates the area as the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia.
A refugee, generally speaking, is a displaced person who has been forced to cross national boundaries and who cannot return home safely. Such a person may be called an asylum seeker until granted refugee status by the contracting state or the UNHCR if they formally make a claim for asylum. The lead international agency coordinating refugee protection is the United Nations Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The United Nations have a second Office for refugees, the UNRWA, which is solely responsible for supporting the large majority of Palestinian refugees.
Gali District is one of the districts of Abkhazia. Its capital is Gali, the town by the same name. The district is smaller than the eponymous one in the de jure subdivision of Georgia, as some of its former territory is now part of Tkvarcheli District, formed by de facto Abkhaz authorities in 1995.
The resolution urged both parties to continue to negotiate outstanding issues, including the division of powers between Tbilisi and Sukhumi. [2] The parties had promised not to use violence to resolve the issues. The Security Council affirmed once more that demographic changes due to the conflict were unacceptable and called for the return of refugees to the Gali region. It further deplored violence and criminal activity in the conflict zone and demanded that both parties respect the 1994 Agreement on a Cease-fire and Separation of Forces.
Tbilisi, in some countries also still known by its pre-1936 international designation Tiflis, is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million people. Founded in the 5th century AD by Vakhtang I of Iberia, since then Tbilisi served as the capital of various Georgian kingdoms and republics. Between 1801 and 1917, then part of the Russian Empire, Tbilisi was the seat of the Imperial Viceroy, governing both Southern and Northern Caucasus.
Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of the breakaway Republic of Abkhazia which has controlled it since the 1992-93 war in Abkhazia, although most of the international community considers it legally part of Georgia.
The Agreement on a Cease-fire and Separation of Forces was signed by parties to the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict in Moscow on 14 May 1994. Also known as the 1994 Moscow Agreement, it was witnessed by United Nations, Russian Federation and Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe representatives. The agreement was recognised in United Nations Security Council Resolution 934.
