On June 4, 2024, the UN General Assembly in New York, within the framework of the 78th session, adopted a resolution entitled 'On the status of internally displaced persons and refugees from Abkhazia, Georgia, and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia', initiated by Georgia and 64 countries from different regions of the world. The resolution was supported by 103 countries (compared to 100 in the previous year), while 9 countries (Russia, Belarus, Syria, Nicaragua, North Korea, Zimbabwe, Mali, Cuba, and Burundi) opposed it. The resolution calls on the participants in the Geneva talks to intensify efforts to improve the security and human rights situation in the Russian-occupied regions of Georgia, which in turn will facilitate the return of internally displaced persons and refugees to their homes.

In addition to the humanitarian context, the resolution has practical significance, as it mandates the UN Secretary-General to prepare an annual report on the situation of the displaced population living in Georgia and the implementation of the resolution. This is particularly important in light of the challenging human rights situation in the Russian-occupied regions of Georgia and the absence of international monitoring mechanisms, which further complicates the safe and dignified return of internally displaced persons and refugees. As previously noted by the Foreign Ministry, Georgia has been presenting this resolution in the UN General Assembly since 2008. The resolution denounces the demographic changes carried out by force in the Russian-occupied regions of Georgia and reaffirms the right of displaced persons, regardless of ethnicity, to return to their homes in dignity and safety. Furthermore, it emphasises the need to respect and protect their property rights.

In a notable departure from previous years, Armenia provided its endorsement to the resolution for the first time this year. Nevertheless, this support was not motivated by a genuine affinity for Georgia or a desire to assist Georgian refugees (many of whom are ethnic Armenians in Abkhazia). It is evident that Armenia is currently distancing itself from Russia and is pursuing a strategy of confrontation on the international stage. However, the Armenian diaspora and Armenian lobby, particularly in the Russian Federation, have not altered their hostile stance towards Georgia. Furthermore, there is support for the separatist status of Samachablo and Abkhazia. The influx of Armenian migrants (this time from liberated Azerbaijani Karabakh, where in September last year the remnants of separatist ‘Artsakh’ were finally liquidated) has led to a significant change in the ethnic composition of the population, with the region becoming known as'seaside Armenia’. It is important to recall that until 2019, Armenia consistently voted against the return of Georgian refugees in annual resolutions on the matter.

•       In 2023, 100 countries voted in favour of the resolution, 9 voted against, 59 abstained, and Armenia did not participate in the vote.

•       In 2022, 95 countries voted in favour of the resolution, 12 voted against it, and 56 abstained. Armenia did not participate in the vote.

•       In 2021, 80 countries voted in favour, 14 voted against, and 70 abstained. Armenia did not vote.

•       In 2020, 84 countries voted in favour, 13 voted against, and 78 abstained. Armenia did not vote.

•       In 2019, 79 countries voted in favour, 15 voted against, and 57 abstained. Armenia did not vote.

•       In 2018, 81 countries voted in favour, 16 voted against, and 62 abstained. Armenia voted against.

•       In 2017, 80 countries voted in favour, 14 voted against, 61 abstained, and Armenia voted against.

•       In 2016, 76 countries voted in favour, 15 voted against, 64 abstained, and Armenia voted against.

•       In 2015, 75 countries voted in favour, 16 voted against, and 78 abstained. Armenia voted against it.

•       In 2014, 69 countries voted in favour, 13 voted against, and 79 abstained.

•       In 2013, 62 countries voted in favour, 16 voted against, and 84 abstained. Armenia voted against it.

•       In 2012, 60 countries voted in favour, 15 voted against, and 82 abstained. Armenia voted against it.

•       In 2011, 57 countries voted in favour, 13 voted against, and 74 abstained.

•       In 2010, 50 countries voted in favour, 17 voted against, and 86 abstained. Armenia voted against it.

•       In 2009, 48 countries voted in favour, 19 voted against, and 78 abstained. Armenia voted against.

•       In 2008, 14 countries voted in favour of the resolution on the return of Georgian refugees (that year only to Abkhazia, since the vote was held before the August 2008 conflict). Conversely, 11 countries voted against it.

In both the previous year and the present one, the resolution has been supported by Azerbaijan and Turkey, which are friendly to Georgia. In addition, the resolution has been supported by Ukraine, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and EU member states, including Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and France. Additionally, the resolution was endorsed by Ukraine, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and EU member states, including Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and France. However, it is necessary to compare this position with that of 2022, when China voted against the resolution, effectively supporting the occupying country of Russia. Such behaviour by China in 2022 only serves to confirm the assumption of a number of political experts that Moscow and Beijing coordinated the invasion of Russia into Ukraine in February 2022. However, the war has been ongoing for three years, with no discernible impact on Russia. Moreover, China has ceased to align itself with Russia in the international arena. Nevertheless, China is interested in cooperating with Georgia as a key country in the Middle Corridor, as evidenced by its willingness to participate in the construction of the deep-water port of Anaklia. It is not coincidental that the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, has asserted that China's abstention from the UN resolution is tantamount to support. He notes that "some of our friends and partner countries sometimes take a restrained position," and that this is due to the fact that both they and Georgia sometimes have specific approaches and decisions based on their own agenda. In this case, abstention is tantamount to support," he states. Among those who abstained from supporting the resolution is Israel, despite its declared 'friendship' with Georgia. But this should not come as a surprise, since Israel itself is not trying to implement UN resolutions on the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes, or on the establishment of a Palestinian state, against the background of the current war in Gaza, which is in fact accompanied by a new expulsion of Palestinians. In general, it should be considered a great success of Georgian diplomacy that in 2024 Georgia has managed not only to maintain but also to increase the annual momentum of support for the resolution, which means that the time of the de-occupation of Abkhazia and Samachablo, as well as the return of the refugees, is inexorably approaching.

George Kvinitadze