YouSaid · the spoken record

Janelidze

lines on the record
20
first
2017-02-21
most recent
2018-05-22
sittings or episodes
2
sources
un-security-council

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  1. “Against the backdrop of ongoing conflicts and high casualties in many parts of the world, be it in Yemen, Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine or elsewhere, we must step up our efforts to make a tangible impact on the ground. In order to prevent the repetition of those crimes, the international community must intensify its efforts to combat impunity and use all available mechanisms to ensure that the perpetrators are held accountable. We fully support the Secretary-General in his endeavour to mobilize the UnitedNations and its Member States to strengthen the protection of the human rights of civilian populations in armed conflicts, and we call for the implementation of his recommendations to that end. Georgia stands ready to contribute to those efforts.”

    2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source

  2. “As the world suffers from unprecedented flows of forced displacement, with the number of IDPs alone exceeding 65 million, how we as the international community address that humanitarian question is of immense importance. Ensuring respect for resolution 2286 (2016) remains pivotal, but its effective implementation will require further action by the Security Council, including its permanent members. In Georgia, after the 2009 veto on the continuation of the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia, we faced a vacuum and a need for the establishment of international security arrangements on the ground, which directly affect the protection of civilians.”

    2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source

  3. “No international monitor is allowed to enter the occupied regions and provide credible information about the humanitarian and human rights needs on the ground. That should be totally unacceptable to the international community and the Security Council. The third priority area, on preventing and finding durable solutions to the issue of forcibly displaced persons, has special importance for Georgia. While over 10 per cent of our population has been exiled, we do our utmost to improve the livelihoods of the IDPs, including by providing them with housing. However, the fundamental question of respecting their right to return and claim their property back home remains unresolved.”

    2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source

  4. “With the help of the Committee, the remains of 162 people were recovered from 22 grave sites located throughout the region. When it comes to the second priority area, my main message pertains to the urgency of allowing humanitarian access. Despite the full determination of the Government to protect its civilian population affected by the Russia-Georgia conflict, we are prevented from extending that protection to the population residing in Georgia's occupied regions. The civilian population in those territories are deprived of minimal safeguards for their safety and are stripped of their fundamental rights and freedoms, including, but not limited to, the right to freedom of movement, the prohibition of education in a native language, the right to health care and gross violations of the right to property.”

    2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source

  5. “Another practice in which Georgia has shown its constructive approach is the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM). The IPRM. was created within the framework of the Geneva international discussions and meets regularly in both the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions in order to prevent and react to the incidents happening along the occupation line. However, despite the regular meetings in that format, responses to the major incidents were not always appropriate. In that connection, I would like to thank the International Committee ofthe Red Cross for its essential role in Georgia in preventing disappearances, locating the whereabouts of missing persons and identifying and handing over human remains to families.”

    2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source

  6. “Last year a Georgian citizen, Giga Otkhozoria, was chased and killed by a so-called border guard at the Abkhaz occupation line, and earlier this year another Georgian citizen, Archil Tatunashvili, an internally displaced person (IDP), was brutally killed while in detention in the Tskhinvali region. Respect for international law goes hand in hand with the question of accountability. Georgia, in full transparency, has cooperated with the International Criminal Court (ICC), conducted unprecedented investigations to investigate the crimes committed during the 2008 Russia-Georgia war and facilitated the opening of the ICC Office in Georgia. The non-cooperation and refusal to allow access to the occupied regions from the other side, however, hinders further progress in addressing the question of impunity.”

    2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source

  7. “The only international security presence - the European Union Monitoring Mission - is unable to fully exercise its mandate because it is denied access to the territories that are under illegal military occupation by the Russian Federation. According to the fifth point of the agreement, the Russian Federation has to withdraw its troops and allow international security mechanisms to be established on the ground. Those factors have contributed to the creation of an environment that puts in danger the lives and basic rights of civilians living in and along the occupied territories. Unfortunately, incidents resulting in blatant killings of civilians still take place.”

    2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source

  8. “Therefore, let me echo the three priority areas, based on respective observations from my national perspective: First, respecting international law is at the heart of resolving the Russia-Georgia conflict and addressing its humanitarian consequences. While Georgia is committed to that principle, its disrespect by the Russian Federation, as the occupying Power, is the major impediment to settlement of the conflict. Russia continues to violate the Charter of the United Nations and the main principles of international law, as well as up to 39 Security Council resolutions. Ten years have passed since the Russia-Georgia war, and the Russian Federation has yet to fulfil its obligations under the European Union-mediated ceasefire agreement of 12 August 2008.”

    2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source

  9. “Ithank you, Mr. President, for convening this important debate against the background of a global protection crisis, as outlined by the Secretary-General in his most recent report on the protection of civilians (S/2018/462). Record high numbers of people around the world are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, a situation caused predominantly by conflicts. Addressing the challenge of the protection of civilians requires collective action along the entire peace continuum, ranging from conflict prevention to strengthening governance and institution-building. The path to protection provided by the Secretary-General in his report serves as a valuable guideline for us to focus on.”

    2018-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8264 (2018) · source

  10. “The withdrawal of Russia's occupation forces from Georgia would be the most important stage towards a comprehensive settlement of the Russia-Georgia conflict. Finally, let me reiterate how important it is that the international community unanimously reaffirm their adherence to the Charter of the United Nations and the fundamental principles and norms of international law. In that context, I reaffirm Georgia's strong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of your country, Mr. President, and that of other European States. It is vital that we all spare no efforts in finding effective solutions to conflicts that impact the lives of millions of people.”

    2017-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7886 (2017) · source

  11. “We thus call upon the Russian Federation to reverse its illegal policy, comply with international obligations, including the 12 August 2008 ceasefire agreement, and grant access to international monitoring mechanisms, first and foremost the European Union Monitoring Mechanism, as provided by its mandate, facilitate the creation of international security arrangements and allow the return of hundreds of thousands of IDPs and refugees who have been forcefully evicted from their homes. Georgia stands ready to settle the conflict with the Russian Federation by exclusively peaceful means, in accordance with relevant international agreements and with full respect for the fundamental principles of international law.”

    2017-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7886 (2017) · source

  12. “Despite all of that, the Russian Federation continues policies aimed at the so-called factual annexation of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, through illegal agreements on integration signed with de facto authorities on the regions. The decision by the occupation regime to conduct the so-called referendum in the Tskhinvali region to rename it "Republic of South Ossetia-the State of Alania", similar to one of the federal subjects of the Russian Federation, is another attestation of that policy. In parallel, the occupation regime in Abkhazia region took the decision to close the so-called checkpoints on the occupation line, further impairing the free movement of the local population. We call on the international community to condemn and counter those acts.”

    2017-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7886 (2017) · source

  13. “As concerns the relations with our compatriots living in the occupied territories, the ethnic Abkhaz and Ossetians are an integral part of our common history and future, despite the current artificial barriers, and there is no alternative to the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees to their homes and to the full reintegration of all ethnicities into a vibrant society where human rights and individual freedoms, as well as cultural and linguistic diversity of different communities, are top priorities We firmly pursue the engagement, confidence-building and reconciliation process with the people living in the occupied territories. We are offering all benefits, which are open to Georgian citizens. We stand ready to offer all the progress we will achieve along our development path.”

    2017-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7886 (2017) · source

  14. “It was in that spirit that Georgia undertook the unilateral non-use of force commitment, which was never reciprocated. Since 2012, the Government of Georgia has sought the de-escalation of relations with the Russian Federation by taking constructive and practical steps. For that purpose we have established dialogue on issues related to trade, transport and people-to-people relations. which has provided some positive outcomes. We worked constructively in the format of the Geneva International Discussions, open to constructive negotiations. Last year was marked by the restoration of the Gali Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism.”

    2017-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7886 (2017) · source

  15. “While the United Nations, the OSCE and the EU have been engaged in international talks between Georgia and Russia as the co-moderators of the Geneva International Discussions for eight years now, more needs to be done to deliver tangible results. That requires, first and foremost, political will and commitment from all. It requires more stewardship on behalf of the co-chairs and the Secretary-General in guiding and assessing the process, based on the principles and norms of international law. We should all support the Secretary-General in assuming a stronger leadership role. My country has long been committed to the constructive and peaceful policy of reconciliation and confidence-building. Let me stress that Georgia is committed to strive for peace in the region.”

    2017-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7886 (2017) · source

  16. “Moreover, following the August war, we even lost the minimal existing safeguards, as in 2009 both the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia and the OSCE mission to Georgia were unilaterally blocked by Russia, despite the increased need for their presence to monitor their situation on the ground. It is a vivid example that all protracted or dormant conflicts contain a threat of escalation at any time and require regular monitoring by the Security Council, instead of its only reacting to the crises on an ad hoc basis. Therefore, it would be important to launch periodic reporting by the Secretary-General to the Security Council on protracted conflicts.”

    2017-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7886 (2017) · source

  17. “I should recall here that for 16 years, starting in the early 1990s, in this very Chamber the Council adopted 39 resolutions on the conflict on Georgia, reaffirming my country's territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders, denouncing ethnic cleansing and stressing the necessity "to address seriously the need for a dignified return of IDPs [internally displaced persons] and refugees, including their security and human rights concerns" (resolution 1666 (2006). para. 7). In Georgia's experience, a conflict that started in the early 19905 reached its culmination in 2008 with Russia's military intervention in Georgia and the occupation of our territories as the international community failed to effectively respond to the early warning signs.”

    2017-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7886 (2017) · source

  18. “It is particularly alarming when the security architecture is deliberately undermined by a permanent member of the Security Council whose precise duty it is to stand guard over international principles. Over the past decade, an inability to solve protracted conflicts and prevent the emergence of new ones has revealed the fundamental deficiencies of the current international security architecture.”

    2017-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7886 (2017) · source

  19. “Today, however, one can hardly point to any region that is free from security threats and confrontations. The multiple conflicts in Europe share similarities and common patterns, including the infringement of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighbouring States. We have all seen aggression, first in Georgia and then in Ukraine, and it may happen elsewhere if no action is taken today. In Europe, we have all witnessed the reversal of the political culture of cooperation that is enshrined in the landmark documents of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and the OSCE. We have gone back to the politics of threats and the use of force.”

    2017-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7886 (2017) · source

  20. “At the outset, I would like to thank the Ukrainian presidency for convening today's important and timely debate, giving us an opportunity to focus on our region and reflect on ways of responding to the security challenges and continuing instability on the continent. I would like to thank Secretary-General Antonio Guterres; Mr. Lamberto Zannier, Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); Ms. Helga Schmid, Secretary General of the European External Action Service of the European Union (EU); and those Ministers who have participated in and contributed to the debate. The United Nations was created to put an end to war and serve as an international instrument for preventing conflicts and maintaining peace and security.”

    2017-02-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7886 (2017) · source