OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: STATEMENT ON THE

UNCLAS STATE 040115 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OSCE PREL PGOV GG SUBJECT: OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: STATEMENT ON THE SITUATION IN GEORGIA ¶1. Post is authorized to present the following statement at the April 23 Permanent Council meeting in Vienna. Begin text: Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. The United States would like to call attention to the April 14 statement of the High Commissioner on National Minorities in which he expresses serious concern about developments in the Gali district of Abkhazia, Georgia. We agree fully that limitations imposed on ethnic Georgians' rights by the de facto authorities, including through compulsory "passportization" and restrictions on their freedom of movement, are unacceptable not only from a human rights perspective, but have led in addition to a deterioration in the security situation. We exhort the de facto authorities to rescind these limitations and fully respect the human rights of all people in the region. We also call on Russia to ensure that respect for human rights is upheld and that international humanitarian law is observed in those areas of Georgia controlled by Russian military forces. In addition, we urge the participants to implement the recommendations of the November 2008 ODIHR/HCNM human rights assessment mission report, and call for an urgent follow-up assessment to ascertain the current human rights conditions in the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions of Georgia. Furthermore, we deplore the detention of two unarmed OSCE military monitors on April 21 near Nikozi, south of the administrative boundary line. We concur with the Chairperson-in-Office that their detention by South Ossetian authorities was "wholly unacceptable", and urge all forces in the area to refrain from provocative acts. The fragile security situation, including continued reports of violence and human rights abuses in the zone of conflict, underscores the need for free and unfettered access by international monitors to the whole of Georgia, including Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It also illustrates the need for a robust OSCE presence throughout Georgia. The departure of the OSCE mission would remove an important mediating voice, increasing the possibility of direct confrontation in a still-tense atmosphere, and limit the ability of the international community to build confidence and peacefully resolve what remains a fragile security environment. The United States believes the Chairmanship's April 8 draft decision on an Office in Tbilisi and a monitoring operation provides a good basis for agreement. The Chairmanship's proposal is a useful compromise precisely because it skillfully avoids the divisive issues of status and instead focuses on practical arrangements that would allow the OSCE to contribute positively toward conflict resolution efforts in support of the Geneva process. We urge all delegations to work with the Chairmanship in a spirit of good will and collaboration to reach swift agreement on the basis of this proposal, and would view any effort to reinsert contentious issues that prejudge status disputes as unhelpful and not aimed at a good-faith resolution. We call upon all participants to take a constructive approach at today,s meeting of the Geneva Process incident prevention and response mechanism for the Georgian region of South Ossetia. We hope this meeting, as well as the next round of Geneva discussions on May 18 and 19, will contribute positively to reducing tensions in the region and furthering implementation of the August 12 six-point agreement. In particular, we look forward to concrete progress being made in Geneva on the urgent problem of humanitarian access to South Ossetia from Gori. The United States will continue to support Georgia's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity with its internationally recognized borders, and will help in all ways to find a peaceful resolution to this conflict. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. CLINTON