General Assembly: 76th Plenary Meeting, 77th Session…

The General Assembly today adopted the latest in a series of resolutions recognizing the right of return of all internally displaced persons and refugees and their descendants to their homes throughout Georgia, also underlining the need to develop a timetable towards this end.

By a vote of 100 in favour to 9 against, with 59 abstentions, it adopted the text “Status of internally displaced persons and refugees from Abkhazia, Georgia, and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia” under its agenda item on protracted conflicts in the “GUAM” area, which comprises Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and the Republic of Moldova.

By the resolution, the Assembly called on all participants in the discussions that began in Geneva in 2008 to intensify their efforts to establish a durable peace and underlined the urgent need for unimpeded access for humanitarian activities to all internally displaced persons, refugees and others residing in all conflict-affected areas throughout Georgia.

Introducing the text, that country’s representative underscored that the draft resolution “is of purely humanitarian character”, noting that his delegation deliberately decided to focus on humanitarian issues to avoid any political speculation when the fundamental rights of displaced persons are at stake.

The General Assembly will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 8 June, to elect members of the Economic and Social Council and take action on a draft resolution relating to the International Day of Combating Sand and Dust Storms.