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Abkhazia and Georgia Mission Notes Peacekeeping_4_v2final.qxd 1/28/08 10:06 AM Page 90 4.1 Abkhazia-Georgia high throughout the year, driven largely by an UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) incident involving rocket fire in the Kodori Val- ley (the 6 August missile incident in South Os- • Authorization and 24 August 1993 setia) and Russian withdrawal from the Con- Start Date (UNSC Res. 858) ventional Forces in Europe Treaty. • SRSG and Jean Arnault (France) After Abkhazia declared independence Head of Mission from Georgia in 1992, the UN Observer Mis- • Chief Military Major-General Niaz Mohammad Khan sion in Georgia (UNOMIG) was established in Observer Khattak (Pakistan) August 1993 to verify compliance with the • Senior Police Advisor Oleksiy Telychkin (Ukraine) cease-fire agreement. In spring 1994, the two • Budget $35 million (1 July 2007–30 June 2008) sides negotiated the “Agreement on a Cease- • Strength as of Military observers: 130 Fire and Separation of Forces,” also known as 31 October 2007 Police: 17 the Moscow Agreement, which mandated the International Civilian Staff: 97 CIS Peacekeeping Force (CISPKF). Drawing Local Civilian Staff: 181 UN Volunteers: 1 on the over 1,000 Russian troops present in the conflict zone, the CISPKF was mandated For detailed mission information see p. 343. to promote the safe return of refugees, pro- vide a “security zone,” and supervise imple- mentation of the agreement. In July 1994, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution CIS Peacekeeping Force (CISPKF) in Abkhazia-Georgia 937, expanding UNOMIG’s mandate to in- clude monitoring of the CISPKF, the cease- • Authorization Date 21 October 1994 (CIS Council of fire agreement, and Georgian troop with- Collective Security), 21 July 2004 drawal from the Kodori Valley. (UNSC Res. 937) Several incidents toward the end of 2006 • Start Date June 1994 led to heightened tensions in the conflict zone • Head of Mission Major-General Sergey Chaban (Russia) • Strength as of Troops: 1,600 throughout 2007. On 25 October 2006, the 30 September 2007 Georgian government reported that three rockets were fired in the upper Kodori Valley in northern Abkhazia, an incident that the UN Secretary-General referred to as “very serious.” The year 2007 saw a partial thaw of the Following the arrest in December 2006 of an frozen conflict between Georgia and Abkhazia, Abkhaz official from Gali by the Georgian po- but meaningful discourse between the two par- lice, the Gali administration temporarily closed ties remained elusive. The lack of diplomatic several crossing points into the district. UN- progress on peace negotiations was com- OMIG responded by launching fifty-two spe- pounded by disputes over the validity of local cial patrols to 273 destinations on both sides of Abkhaz elections and the continued efforts to the cease-fire line. Despite this increased UN link Abkhazia’s independence with the situation presence in the region, sporadic violence con- in Kosovo. Georgia-Russia tensions remained tinued into early 2007. 90 Peacekeeping_4_v2final.qxd 1/28/08 10:06 AM Page 91 ABKHAZIA-GEORGIA • 91 In February and March 2007, the Abkhaz David Sigua, an Abkhaz election official from administration conducted local and parlia- Gali district. mentary elections, the validity of which was The most serious incident in 2007 oc- contested by much of the international com- curred on 20 September, when Georgian and munity. The Group of Friends, composed of Abkhaz forces engaged in direct clashes, the United States, France, Germany, Russia, leading to two dead and seven detained on the and the United Kingdom, continued their at- Abkhaz side. Another serious incident took tempts to define the principles for a political place on 11 March, when the Georgian Min- settlement of the conflict. Though two meet- istry of Foreign Affairs informed UNOMIG ings were convened, talks stalled over the that five helicopters had fired rockets from issue of Georgian withdrawal of armed per- the upper Kodori Valley into the villages of sonnel from the upper Kodori Valley, and over Chkhalta and Adjara. A joint fact-finding re- the ongoing dispute over the disappearance of port was released by UNOMIG at the end of Box 4.1.1 Tajikistan shortfall in the country’s first postconflict UN Tajikistan Office of Peacebuilding (UNTOP) elections, with five candidates vying for • Start Date 1 June 2000 the presidency. Despite the challenges, the • End Date 31 July 2007 elections proceeded peacefully, resulting • Executive Representative Ambassador Vladimir Sotirov in a third consecutive seven-year term for of the Secretary-General (Bulgaria) President Imomali Rakhmon. • Strength as of Civilian Staff: 31 Throughout its seven-year history, 30 September 2007 (10 internationally recruited, 21 local) UNTOP facilitated programs on a range of peacebuilding issues, including foster- ing national dialogue and reconciliation, OSCE Centre in Dushanbe strengthening democratic institutions, re- integrating former combatants, training • Authorization Date December 1993 (Rome Ministerial), October 2002 police, and promoting human rights and • Start Date February 1994 rule of law. After a two-month mandate re- • Head of Mission Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin (Russia) • Budget $5.2 million (October 2006–September 2007) newal in May 2007 to allow for a smooth • Strength as of Civilian Staff: 17 handover of its activities to national au- 30 September 2007 thorities, UNTOP closed its doors, having successfully fulfilled its mandate. Following the end of UNTOP’s man- Two events in 2007 highlighted Tajikis- rife with political tension characterized by date, in December 2007 the UN opened a tan’s dramatic transformation over the past a democratic deficit. regional preventive diplomacy center in fifteen years: the tenth anniversary of the In May 2006, the UN Secretary- Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, to facilitate end of the country’s civil war (1992–1997), General requested a year-long mandate communication among regional organiza- and the end of the mandate of the UN Ta- extension for UNTOP to ensure assistance tions within Central Asia and to provide jikistan Office of Peacebuilding (UNTOP) for the November 2006 presidential continued political advice and assistance. on 31 July 2007. Since 2000, UNTOP had elections. UNTOP developed and imple- While this is a promising sign, Tajikistan provided political advice to the Tajikistan mented a technical assistance project for remains the poorest country in Central government to follow up the UN Mission the elections and coordinated activities Asia, and it is evident that continued en- of Observers to Tajikistan (UNMOT). While with the Organization for Security and gagement of international actors will be both events are indicative of general prog- Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Centre in necessary to consolidate the gains regis- ress in Tajikistan’s postconflict recovery Dushanbe. Limited access to the media tered with the support of the various UN process, the post-UNTOP environment is during the campaign emerged as a major missions in Tajikistan. Peacekeeping_4_v2final.qxd 1/28/08 10:06 AM Page 92 92 • MISSION NOTES July, but did not identify the parties involved and Russia also continued to dispute whether in the incident. Reports of the movement of the Russian presence at a military base in unidentified armed personnel in the lower Abkhazia constituted a violation of the Con- Kodori Valley during early 2007 were also a ventional Forces in Europe Treaty. Russia’s concern. withdrawal from the treaty on 14 July in- A further contentious issue in 2007 was creased tensions, while diplomatic channels the presence of two Georgian “patriotic youth remained at a standstill. camps” on the border with Abkhazia. Georgia.
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