Georgia, 2003

Let me begin by

congratulating you, Sir, on your assumption of the

presidency of the fifty-eighth session of the General

Assembly. Allow me also to express our heartfelt

appreciation to Mr. Jan Kavan for his outstanding

leadership during the previous session. I would also

like to pay tribute to Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello and

the United Nations staff members who fell victim to

cowardly and blind rage in Baghdad. The dreadful

terrorist attack perpetrated against those messengers of

peace once again highlighted the danger we face in

many corners of the world.

In recent years, the United Nations and the entire

world community have come up against challenges that

threaten the very basis of the Organization and our

collective efforts towards global peace and security.

International terrorism, a threat with a global

dimension, affects each and every one of us. However,

it has become evident that many of the new

democracies are particularly vulnerable to that threat.

Scarce material resources and the lack of qualified

personnel undermine their efforts, highlighting the

need for further intensified global cooperation.

Georgia is no exception when it comes to threats

posed by international terrorism. However, despite

existing difficulties, and with the active support and

assistance of our partners, especially the United States,

we have made substantial progress. Georgia

successfully completed its anti-criminal and anti-

terrorist operation in the Pankisi Gorge. We have freed

that territory from illegal armed groups and have seized

a considerable number of arms and ammunition. I can

unequivocally state today that the Pankisi Gorge, which

9

has been freed of every illegally armed person, no

longer poses any threat to Georgia or its neighbours.

However, unless the root cause of the Pankisi Gorge

problem is settled, namely, the conflict in Chechnya,

we cannot consider the problem eliminated. The lesson

to be drawn from this experience is that the fight

against terrorism, in all its complexity, will be

successful only if carried out through concerted

international efforts. A single quick-fix operation can

cause the problem to resurface at a later stage.

Many of the speakers who spoke before me

highlighted the importance of tackling the threat of

international terrorism in all its aspects. We cannot but

share that notion. Protracted problems, and in

particular unresolved conflicts that result in the

creation of uncontrolled territories, have become a

breeding ground for terrorism. It is only a matter of

time until we witness greater ties being forged between

separatist leaders and terrorists.

A vivid example of that is the conflict in

Abkhazia, Georgia. That territory, which is under the

control of a separatist regime, has turned into a safe

haven for criminals, traffickers in drugs and human

beings, illegal arms dealers and terrorist groups. The

notorious Shamil Basayev, who was recently included

on the Counter-Terrorism Committee’s terrorist list, has

re-established himself as a friend of the separatist

authorities and is maintaining active links with the

terrorist groups in Abkhazia. In the near future, we will

provide the Counter-Terrorism Committee with

relevant information on individuals involved in

terrorist activities in that region of Georgia.

The record of the United Nations in reaching a

comprehensive settlement of the conflict in Abkhazia,

Georgia, has been less than satisfactory. After more

than 10 years of United Nations involvement, we have

not come even a single step closer to a settlement.

Blatant violations of human rights and ethnic cleansing

of the Georgian population in Abkhazia continue

unabated. Despite numerous calls, we have failed to

correct even the fundamental flaws in the entire United

Nations-led peace process.

We welcome the fact that, since the last session of

the General Assembly, the Geneva process has gained a

new dimension. We are hopeful that that will give new

impetus to the peace process. I would like to stress that

this relatively new development is still fragile and that

it should be aimed at achieving results, and not at the

process itself. We would also like to underline the

importance of the recently held summit of the

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which

reinforced the previous decisions of CIS heads of

States putting forth restrictive regulations on political

and economic cooperation and contact with Abkhazia,

Georgia.

However, despite those positive steps, very little

has changed on the ground. In that regard, I am

thinking in particular of the illegal unilateral actions

undertaken by representatives of the Russian side, and

especially by leaders of regional authorities, that

significantly damage the peace process. The railway

link between Sochi and Sukhumi is still operating

unhindered. Despite our appeals at the last session of

the General Assembly, the wholesale granting of

Russian citizenship to the Abkhaz population has never

slowed. Russian passports issued to the inhabitants of

the secessionist region have already fallen into hands

of terrorists, who are making the best use of free

passage in and out of Russia through the Abkhaz and

Ossetian sections of the Georgian-Russian border,

where our neighbour unilaterally imposes a visa-free

regime.

The illegal acquisition of property — including

possessions of internally displaced persons — in

Abkhazia, Georgia, by State bodies, legal entities and

individuals continues. Needless to say, such acts are

being carried out in flagrant violation of international

law and represent an infringement of Georgia’s

sovereignty. They run counter to the Georgian law that

declares any transaction with the separatist regime null

and void.

The illegal presence of the Russian military base

in Gudauta is yet another element that is exacerbating

the situation in Abkhazia. Georgia insists that the

commitment undertaken in accordance with the Treaty

on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe concerning

the removal of that base be implemented expeditiously

and transparently.

But there must still be hope — hope that we will

not again fail the 300,000 internally displaced persons

and refugees, whose patience is running thin. Efforts

must be redoubled to persuade the Abkhaz side to

accept the so-called Boden Document, on the

distribution of constitutional competences between

Tbilisi and Sokhumi, as a basis for political

negotiations.

10

We have repeatedly noted the failure of the

peacekeeping forces of the Commonwealth of

Independent States to provide security for returnees. In

fact, those forces — which do not even have a United

Nations mandate — have done no more than sustain the

status quo, virtually functioning as border guards

between Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia. We cannot

hope for any improvement in the situation unless the

United Nations takes upon itself the launching, in an

internationalized format, of a full-scale peacekeeping

operation in Abkhazia. It is through an increased role

on the part of the United Nations and through the will

of the international community that the unheeding

Abkhaz separatists can be forced to compromise.

Failing that, the Government of Georgia will have no

other choice but to request the Security Council to

resort to the measures envisaged under Chapter VII of

the United Nations Charter.

The Secretary-General and many other world

leaders have duly recognized that the United Nations is

passing though one of the most critical phases of its

history. New global realities have made it clear that

immediate measures ought to be undertaken if we want

to ensure the sustainability of the United Nations and

to strengthen the confidence of Member States in the

Organization.

In his statement before the forty-seventh session

of the General Assembly, in 1992, President

Shevardnadze of Georgia stated:

“There is no need to fear reforms when

reforms are so necessary, especially, in our view,

in the two interrelated fields of peacekeeping and

nation-building in the newly independent States.”

(A/47/PV.12, p.36)

Those sentiments have been duly echoed during the

current Assembly session. We should be courageous

enough to recognize that reform of the United Nations

is essential for the interests of each of us, as well as for

our collective good.

It is our belief that Member States can rally

around the Secretary-General in his call for the creation

of a high-level panel of eminent personalities charged

with a multitude of tasks aimed at reforming the United

Nations. I reaffirm Georgia’s support for expansion of

the Security Council. We join the calls to grant

Germany and Japan permanent seats on the Council

and to increase the number of non-permanent members.

Moreover, the decision-making process within the

Council should be made more transparent and

democratic to ensure that the adoption of necessary

resolutions does not fall prey to special, narrow

interests.

As we continue to collectively witness changing

global realities, the Government of Georgia welcomes

the increasing role of regional structures in achieving

the fundamental objectives set forth by the United

Nations. The efforts of European and Euro-Atlantic

structures in the Balkans is just one successful example

in that regard. Another vivid example is Afghanistan,

where NATO has taken a leading role in the peace-

building operation. That organization’s role will

increase further as a result of its recent expansion.

Security issues have become a serious concern for such

regional organizations as the Black Sea Economic

Cooperation Organization and the GUUAM

Participating States — Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan,

Azerbaijan and Republic of Moldova. Here, we should

like to appeal to Member States for support for the

GUUAM’s efforts to be granted observer status in the

General Assembly.

The Millennium Summit and the decisions taken

there remain, in our view, one of the most significant

achievements of the United Nations. The consensus

achieved both at the Monterrey and the Johannesburg

Summits are road maps for the implementation of the

Millennium Development Goals. The Government of

Georgia supports the objectives and strategies set forth

in both outcome documents, considering it imperative

that the international community remain on course.

Globalization is becoming an everyday reality.

Advances in modern technologies are making that

process irreversible. However, it is up to the United

Nations to take a more active role in guaranteeing

equitable distribution of resources among all nations of

the world. It is through increased cooperation, through

the streamlining of actions within the United Nations

and its bodies, and through the establishment of new

partnerships that the Organization must prevail in

achieving global sustainable development.

Despite rapidly changing global realities, one

thing remains constant: there is a greater need and a

greater demand for the United Nations. We remain

hopeful that common sense and a common vision of the

future will prevail in this unique international body.

For our part, we are prepared to do our utmost towards

that end.