United Nations Security Council Resolution 1615

UN Security Council ; Resolution 1615
	South Caucasus
Date	29 July 2005
Meeting no.	5,242
Code	S/RES/1615 (Document)
Subject	The situation in Georgia
Voting summary	15 voted for; None voted against; None abstained
Result	Adopted
Security Council composition
Permanent members	China ; France ; Russia ; United Kingdom ; United States ;
Non-permanent members	Algeria ; Argentina ; Benin ; Brazil ; Denmark ; Greece ; Japan ; Philippines ; Romania ; Tanzania ;

Last updated April 01, 2019

United Nations Security Council resolution 1615, adopted unanimously on 29 July 2005, after reaffirming all resolutions on Abkhazia and Georgia, particularly Resolution 1582 (2005), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 31 January 2006.^[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".

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.

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.

Resolution

Observations

In the preamble of the resolution, the Security Council stressed that the lack of progress on a settlement between the two parties was unacceptable. It condemned the shooting down of an UNOMIG helicopter in October 2001 which resulted in nine deaths and deplored that the perpetrators of the attack had not been identified. The contributions of UNOMIG and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) peacekeeping forces in the region were welcomed, in addition to the United Nations-led peace process.

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization of 10 post-Soviet republics in Eurasia formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It has an area of 20,368,759 km² and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. The CIS encourages cooperation in economical, political and military affairs and has certain powers to coordinate trade, finance, lawmaking and security. It has also promoted cooperation on cross-border crime prevention.

Acts

The Security Council welcomed political efforts to resolve the situation, in particular the "Basic Principles for the Distribution of Competences between Tbilisi and Sukhumi" to facilitate negotiations between Georgia and Abkhazia. It regretted the lack of progress on political status negotiations and the refusal of Abkhazia to discuss the document, further calling on both sides to overcome their mutual mistrust. All violations of the 1994 Agreement on a Cease-fire and Separation of Forces were condemned, though a protocol signed on 12 May 2005 to strengthen its implementation was welcomed. The Council also welcomed the calm in the Kodori Valley and the signing of a protocol by both parties on 2 April 2002. Concerns of the civilian population were noted and the Georgian side was asked to guarantee the safety of UNOMIG and CIS troops in the valley. Greater efforts to improve security in the Gali region were encouraged.

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.

The resolution urged the two parties to revitalise the peace process, including greater participation on issues relating to refugees, internally displaced persons, economic co-operation and political and security matters. It also reaffirmed the unacceptability of demographic changes resulting from the conflict. Abkhazia in particular was called upon to improve law enforcement, address the lack of instruction to ethnic Georgians in their first language and ensure the safety of returning refugees.

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.

An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee.

A first language, native language or mother/father/parent tongue, is a language that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term native language or mother tongue refers to the language of one's ethnic group rather than one's first language. Children brought up speaking more than one language can have more than one native language, and be bilingual or multilingual. By contrast, a second language is any language that one speaks other than one's first language.

The Council called again on both parties to take measures to identify those responsible for the shooting down of an UNOMIG helicopter in October 2001. Both parties were also asked to dissociate themselves from military rhetoric and demonstrations in support of illegal armed groups, and ensure the safety of United Nations personnel. Furthermore, there were concerns about the security of UNOMIG personnel, with repeated abductions of UNOMIG and CIS peacekeeping personnel, which the Council condemned.

Finally, the Secretary-General Kofi Annan was asked to report on the situation in Abkhazia within three months.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General serves as the chief administrative officer of the United Nations. The role of the United Nations Secretariat, and of the Secretary-General in particular, is laid out by Chapter XV of the United Nations Charter.

Kofi Atta Annan was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as chairman of The Elders, an international organization founded by Nelson Mandela.

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United Nations Security Council resolution 896, adopted unanimously on 31 January 1994, after reaffirming resolutions 849 (1993), 854 (1993), 858 (1993), 876 (1993), 881 (1993) and 892 (1993) on the Georgian–Abkhazian war and Resolution 868 (1993) concerning the safety of United Nations peacekeepers, the Council considered the possible establishment of peacekeeping force in Abkhazia and Georgia, and discussed the peace process.

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United Nations Security Council resolution 1096, adopted unanimously on 30 January 1997, after reaffirming all resolutions on Georgia, particularly Resolution 1065 (1996), the Council addressed the current situation extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 31 July 1997.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1124, adopted unanimously on 31 July 1997, after reaffirming all resolutions on Georgia, particularly Resolution 1096 (1997), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 31 January 1998.

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United Nations Security Council resolution 1187, adopted unanimously on 30 July 1998, after reaffirming all resolutions on Georgia, particularly Resolution 1150 (1998), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 31 January 1999, and discussed recent hostilities in the country.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1225, adopted unanimously on 28 January 1999, after reaffirming all resolutions on Georgia, particularly Resolution 1187 (1998), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 31 July 1999, and expressed an intention to review its mandate.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1339, adopted unanimously on 31 January 2001, after reaffirming all resolutions on Abkhazia and Georgia, particularly Resolution 1311 (2000), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 31 July 2001.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1364 United Nations Security Council resolution

United Nations Security Council resolution 1364, adopted unanimously on 31 July 2001, after reaffirming all resolutions on Abkhazia and Georgia, particularly Resolution 1339 (2001), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 31 January 2002.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1393, adopted unanimously on 31 January 2002, after reaffirming all resolutions on Abkhazia and Georgia, particularly Resolution 1364 (2001), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 31 July 2002.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1427, adopted unanimously on 29 July 2002, after reaffirming all resolutions on Abkhazia and Georgia, particularly Resolution 1393 (2002), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 31 January 2003.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1462, adopted unanimously on 30 January 2003, after reaffirming all resolutions on Abkhazia and Georgia, particularly Resolution 1427 (2002), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 31 July 2003.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1494, adopted unanimously on 30 July 2003, after reaffirming all resolutions on Abkhazia and Georgia, particularly Resolution 1462 (2003), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 31 January 2004 and endorsed the establishment of a police component.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1524, adopted unanimously on 30 January 2004, after reaffirming all resolutions on Abkhazia and Georgia, particularly Resolution 1494 (2003), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 31 July 2004.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1554, adopted unanimously on 29 July 2004, after reaffirming all resolutions on Abkhazia and Georgia, particularly Resolution 1524 (2004), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 31 January 2005.

United Nations Security Council resolution 1582, adopted unanimously on 28 January 2005, after reaffirming all resolutions on Abkhazia and Georgia, particularly Resolution 1554 (2004), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until 31 July 2005.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1716, adopted unanimously on October 13, 2006, after reaffirming all resolutions on Abkhazia and Georgia, particularly Resolution 1666 (2006), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) until April 15, 2007.

References

↑ "Security Council extends Georgia observer mission until 31 January 2006". United Nations. 29 July 2005.

External links

Text of the Resolution at undocs.org

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[1] "Security Council extends Georgia observer mission until 31 January 2006". United Nations. 29 July 2005.