We, the representatives of the Georgian civil society organizations (CSOs) with this appeal letter would like to ask you to support the UN General Assembly resolution on the “Status of the IDPs and Refugees from Abkhazia, Georgia and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia” to be voted on June 5, 2014.
Close to half a million internally displaced persons and refugees are unable to return to the places of their permanent residence after the conflicts in the early 1990s and 2008. As a result of three cycles of ethnic cleansing and displacement these IDPs have been confined to the temporary residences, without giving up the hope for return to their homes, neighborhoods, towns and villages.
Every year the attention of the IDPs is turned to New York, where the member states of the UnitedNations express support for their right to return in safety and dignity. We hope that this year evenmore member states of the UN will be able to back this humanitarian and human-centric UN General Assembly resolution. Every additional vote is an additional spark of hope for those, who lost the most precious and cherished – their Homes.
While we understand very well that UN resolutions do not actually return the displaced to their homes, it is still important to us, that the rights of the IDPs are upheld by the international community. It is essential for us that the whole world stands united in support of the right of the displaced person to return to his/her home, despite the political solution to the underlying conflict. We therefore highly appreciate that the UN Secretary General in his report on the “Status ofinternally displaced persons and refugees from Abkhazia, Georgia, and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia” stressed that the “right of return and its exercise by an internally displaced person cannot therefore be directly linked to political questions or the conclusion of peace agreements.” We are aware that the sustainable peace agreement can take a long time. However, You, the Permanent representatives of the UN Member States can make a difference as early as on June 5, if you vote in favor of the proposed draft resolution.
We, together with hundreds of thousands of the displaced persons, hope for your support and pray that very soon the day will come that all persons, who had to abandon their homes because of war and conflict, will be able to go back to their families, houses and cherished birthplaces in peace.
Tbilisi, Georgia
04.06.2014
Undersigning Organizations:
1. Georgia’s Reforms Associates (GRASS)
2. Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association
3. IDP Women Association “Consent”
4. Society Iveria
5. Georgian Institute for Strategic Studies
6. Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI)
7. Media Development Foundation (MDF)
8. Union Sapari
9. ALPE Foundation
10. Caucasus Environmental NGO Network (CENN)
11. International Association of Military Journalists of Georgia
12. Evangelical-Baptist Church of Georgia
13. Tolerance and Diversity Institute
14. Association of Germans of Georgia ”Einung”
15. Identoba
16. Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF)
17. International Centre for Geopolitical Studies
18. Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI)
19. News.ge
20. Institute of democracy and security (IDS)
21. Analytical Center for Interethnic Cooperation and Consultations
22. National Women’s Fund and Memory Research Center
23. Civil Council on defense and Security
24. Caucasian House
25. Georgia International Development Agency
26. International Association of Young Diplomats
27. Georgian Health Promotion and Education Foundation
28. FCTC Implementation and Monitoring Center in Georgia
29. Georgian National Committee of International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS Georgia)
30. Independent Association of Georgian Journalists
31. The FINANCIAL (Newspaper)
32. Caucasian Mosaic
33. Charitable Foundation “Caritas Georgia”.
34. Coalition for Justice
35. TASO Foundation
36. Transparency International Georgia
