TOPIC: SITUATION IN GEORGIA
INTRODUCTION
Since it declared independence from Russia in 1991, the country of Georgia has struggled to keep together. Three regions within Georgia’s borders—Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Ajaria—have campaigned unsuccessfully for their own independence. Abkhazia is the most volatile of these three breakaway regions.
Throughout much of Georgia’s 16-year independence, Abkhazia has struggled for autonomy. The people of Abkhazia are ethnically distinct from most of the Georgian population, and under Georgian rule their native language and culture were suppressed. Abkhazia declared independence in 1992, but its autonomy has not been recognized by Georgia or the international community. Fighting between Georgia’s military and Abkhazia’s soldiers has occurred intermittently since then.
BACKGROUND
History of the Conflict
The Russian Empire took possession of Georgia in 1801, and swallowed up Abkhazia about fifty years later. In 1931, under the orders of Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin, Abkhazia was incorporated into Georgia. Under Russian and Georgian leadership, Russian and Georgian were the only recognized languages; the Abkhaz language and culture were suppressed. Ethnic Georgians began to move into Abkhazia, gradually outnumbering the ethnic Abkhaz five to one. In 1991, Georgia held a referendum, or vote, in which the people voted overwhelmingly for independence. Georgia became a sovereign nation. But the unity of the new country was threatened immediately. Georgia’s minorities sought greater autonomy for the Abkhazia and Ossetia regions, but they faced great resistance from the Georgian majority. Leaders in Abkhazia initially called for separation from Georgia and integration into Russia. Later, Abkhazia advocated for full independence. In 1992 the Georgian government sent troops to the region to quiet the calls for independence. Violence broke out between the two groups and continued for over a year. Abkhaz officials were forced to temporarily abandon the Abkhazia capital, Sukhumi. A ceacefire agreement was reached in September 1992, signed by Abkhazia, Georgia and the Russian Federation. But only a
month later, the ceasefire collapsed and violence resumed.
In October 1993, Abkhaz separatists forced government soldiers out of Abkhazia. By then, more than 200,000 ethnic Georgians had fled Abkhazia. Both Georgia and Abkhazia accused each other of human rights abuses against the civilian population. By 1994, Abkhazia and Georgia agreed to a ceasefire and signed a UN-sponsored agreement, called the Moscow Agreement, which brought Russian peacekeepers into Abkhazia. Under the agreement, Abkhazia would be largely autonomous, but would remain a part of Georgia. About 30,000 displaced Georgians were able to return.
Within months of the ceasefire, Abkhazia adopted its own constitution, in which it declared itself an independent nation. The international community did not recognize the declaration.
Economic Sanctions
In 1995, Eduard Shevardnadze was elected president of Georgia. Shevardnadze took a hard line stance against Abkhazia, convincing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), an organization of Eastern European countries, to impose economic sanctions on Abkhazia until it agreed to rejoin Georgia. Russia refused to participate in CIS’s economic sanctions on Abkhazia. “The Russian Federation, by taking the side of the Republic of Georgia in this conflict, is violating the terms of its peacekeeping function approved by both sides of the conflict,” said a statement by the Russian State Duma, or legislature, regarding the economic sanction. The economic sanctions imposed by the other CIS countries helped stifle the Abkhaz economy. Abkhazia continues to have a very high level of poverty.
The Fighting Continues
In 1998, renewed violence between Georgian government forces and Abkhaz troops caused 30,000 people to flee. Violence flared again in 2001. Because a political agreement cannot be reached, Russian peacekeepers remained in the region. In May 2006, Abkhaz officials presented a peace plan to Georgia, but the proposed plan included the demand that Abkhazia be recognized as an independent country. “The plan is very controversial and is based on the demand that Abkhazia’s independence be recognized, which is unacceptable to us,” said Georgia’s state minister. “But it also includes a number of provisions that we could start considering today.”
Tensions between the parties took a turn for the worse on July 25, 2006, when Georgian Special Forces launched a large-scale operation in the Kodori Valley, in Abkhazia. The Georgian operation was intended to restore order to an area plagued by criminal activities. Although Georgian officials considered the operation a law-enforcement measure and not a military one, and although Georgia’s government gave Abkhaz leaders notice before the operation took place, Abkhaz officials considered the operation a breach of the Moscow Agreement. Tensions between the two parties remain high, and periodic violence continues.
PAST INTERNATIONAL ACTION
Many UN agencies are currently operating in Abkhazia, including the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Food Program. The programs include agriculture programs, water rehabilitation projects, business aid, child immunization and food assistance to children and adults.
UNOMIG
After the first 1992 ceasefire between Abkhazia and Georgia, the Security Council established the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia, or UNOMIG. UNOMIG’s 88 military observers were meant to verify that both sides complied with the provisions of the ceasefire. When the ceasefire broke down, UNOMIG remained in order to observe the conflict and report to the UN. Both sides of the conflict are required by the Moscow Agreement to allow UNOMIG to patrol the region unhindered, but UNOMIG movement is frequently obstructed. In addition, UNOMIG personnel have often been caught between clashing parties of Georgia and Abkhazia. Even more frequently, the lack of adequate law enforcement in Abkhazia leaves UNOMIG observers at risk from criminal activity.
In 1999, UNOMIG experienced “an explosion at the fence of the Sukhumi headquarters on 9 July; the throwing of a grenade over the fence of the newly opened Zugdidi office on 27 September; and the kidnapping of seven UNOMIG personnel on 13 October.” In 2000, two UNOMIG military personnel were abducted in January; two observers, an interpreter, and two non-governmental officers were taken hostage in June; and two UN military observers were abducted in December. In 2001, fighting resumed in the conflict zone, and a UNOMIG helicopter was shot down. All nine unarmed people on board—including two UN staff members and four UN military observers—were killed.
Human Rights Office
A 1993 UN fact-finding mission reported that many of the accusations of human rights abuses were correct. Both Georgian government forces and Abkhaz forces had committed human rights violations. In 1996, a Human Rights Office was established as part of UNOMIG. The Human Rights Office is meant to observe and report on human rights violations in the Abkhazian region. The Office also monitors the court system and has reported that the Abkhaz government discriminates against non-Abkhaz citizens. Returning non Abkhaz citizens displaced by violence were declined the right to reclaim property, thereby preventing the return of displaced persons and refugees.
Security Council
The UN Security Council has issued a number of resolutions on the situation in Abkhazia, Georgia. In each of these resolutions, the Security Council has stated its support for the “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders.” The Council “considers unacceptable and illegitimate the holding of self-styled elections in Abkhazia, Georgia.”
The Council “stresses the urgent need for progress on the question of the refugees and internally displaced persons, calls on both sides to display a genuine commitment to make returns the focus of special attention.” The Council considers that “the Abkhaz side bears particular responsibility to protect the returnees and facilitate the return of the remaining displaced persons. However, many Abkhaz believe the immediate return of 60,000 Georgian refugees could destabilize the region, and Abkhaz officials claim that many of these refugees have already returned, but have simply not registered with the UN refugee agency.
The Council called on Abkhazia to improve its law enforcement and called on Georgia to provide UNOMIG with comprehensive security. It also “urges the Georgian side to address seriously legitimate Abkhaz security concerns, to avoid steps which could be seen as threatening and to refrain from militant rhetoric.”
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FORMULATING A RESOLUTION
Security Council delegates will want to take into consideration the previous Security Council
resolutions. What demands must still be met? Are there new ways to address the conflict? The
following are items delegates may want to address in a resolution:
• The need to repatriate refugees and internally displaced persons in Georgia and neighboring regions;
• The need for the Georgian government and Abkhaz leadership to continue discussing a workable peace plan;
• Whether UNOMIG’s mandate should be continued, whether more troops should be established;
• How human rights violations can be prevented, both by military forces and by court systems; and
• How to encourage the Abkhaz leadership to increase law enforcement measures.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
1. Does your country struggle with any separatist groups? What is your country’s reaction to these groups? If not, how does your country react to separatist groups from other countries in your region?
2. What kind of relationship, if any, does your country have with Georgia?
3. Has your country been affected by the unrest in Georgia, or by ethnic conflict in Caucasus region (such as Chechnya or Azerbaijan)? How does your country respond to conflicts in those regions?
