UNGA: GEORGIAN IDP RESOLUTION PASSES AFTER RUSSIAN

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000832 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KPRM UNGA RS GG SUBJECT: UNGA: GEORGIAN IDP RESOLUTION PASSES AFTER RUSSIAN 'NO ACTION' EFFORT FAILS REF: A. SECSTATE 93378 ¶B. USUN 675 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. After rejecting a Russian Federation "no-action" motion by a vote of 29 in favor, 64 opposed, and 50 abstentions, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a Georgia-sponsored resolution calling for the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Georgia by a vote of 47 in favor, 19 opposed, and 80 abstentions. After losing the no-action vote, Russia withdrew 18 amendments it had submitted prior to the session. The draft resolution was adopted with no changes to the text submitted by Georgia (Ref A). Solid European support was the key to Georgia's victory. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) During GA discussion of a draft resolution submitted by Georgia, entitled, "Status of internally displaced persons and refugees from Abkhazia, Georgia and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia", the Russian Federation tried to prevent a vote by introducing a "no-action" motion (i.e., a motion to adjourn the discussion under Rule 74 of the GA Rules of Procedure). In proposing "no-action", Russian Permrep Vitaly Churkin called the Georgian resolution politically motivated. He accused "certain countries" of being behind the "odious and heinous text," which would not help to build confidence between the parties. Churkin also said that in case the "no-action" motion were to fail, he would seek a vote on 18 separate amendments that the Russian Federation had submitted to the Secretariat the previous day. (At the beginning of the debate, the acting President of the General Assembly had announced that the discussion of the item would be carried out in English, since the Secretariat had not been given sufficient time to translate the 18 amendments into the six working languages.) ¶3. (U) Under Rule 74, two members can speak in favor and two members can speak in opposition to a "no-action" motion. France and the United Kingdom spoke against the motion, both emphasizing that they opposed no-action motions on principle, because such motions impinged on the freedom of member states to propose debate on issues of importance. Nicaragua and Belarus spoke for the motion, both emphasizing that since the text had not achieved a consensus in the GA, it should be withdrawn until a wider consensus could be reached. The "no-action" motion failed by a vote of 29 in favor, 64 opposed and 50 abstentions. ¶4. (U) After the "no-action" motion was defeated, the Russian Permrep launched into a diatribe against what he characterized as the "same countries that were responsible for the closure of UNOMIG" (i.e., U.S. and European Security Council members). He said these countries had politicized a humanitarian issue, had called into question the Geneva process, and had prevented Abkhaz and South Ossetian representatives from traveling to New York to present their views. At the same time, Churkin withdrew all 18 amendments, and the resolution was adopted after a vote of 47 in favor, 19 opposed and 80 abstentions. ¶5. (SBU) COMMENT. The key to Georgia's victory was solid European support, which Russia was unable to overcome. All 26 EU members except Cyprus voted in favor of the resolution and against the "no-action" motion. The overwhelming EU support brought with it most non-EU Europeans. (Note: Armenia and Belarus voted against the resolution. Serbia and Turkey abstained on the resolution, but Turkey voted against "no-action, while Serbia voted for "no-action".) Countries like Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan, all of whom had abstained when a similar resolution was adopted during the previous GA, told us the EU "consensus" had been a factor in their decision to vote for the resolution this year. Opposition to the resolution came from countries such as Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, DPRK, Iran, Burma, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Syria, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, among others, suggesting that their votes were based more on an anti-U.S. stance, rather than any disagreement with the principles of the return of Georgia's IDPs. India also voted against the resolution, as it had done the previous year. END COMMENT. RICE