DECISION OF THE COUNCIL OF HEADS OF STATES OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES on the
prolongation of the term of presence of the CIS Collective Peacekeeping Forces
in
March 22, 2003
The Council of Heads of States of
the Commonwealth of Independent States,
expressing its deep concern with the failure
to solve the problems caused by the conflict, which contribute to the creation of
new sources of tension and jeopardize peace and stability in the region,
reaffirming the territorial integrity of
stressing the importance of the safe
and dignified return of IDPs and refugees to the places of their permanent
residence without setting any preliminary conditions and with the provision of
additional safety guarantees through the establishment of transitional joint
administrative bodies under the aegis of and with the support of international
organizations as well as the urgency of the restoration of infrastructure
necessary to maintain stability, and confirming the provisions of all the
earlier adopted decisions on resolution of the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia, and
first of all the Decision of the Council of Heads of States of the CIS of January
19, 1996 on Measures for Peaceful Settlement of the Conflict in Abkhazia,
Georgia, underscoring the importance of international guarantees of the UN and
OSCE for the non-resumption of hostilities between the sides in the conflict
with participation of the Group of Friends of the UN Secretary-General for the
Resolution of the Conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia, which should be based on the Basic
Principles for the Distribution of Competences between Tbilisi and Sokhumi,
recommended by the UN Security Council,
resolves:
1. To prolong the term of presence
and the Mandate of the Collective Peacekeeping Forces in the conflict zone in
2. To confirm the Mandate of the
Collective Peacekeeping Forces in the conflict zone in Abkhazia, Georgia, from
January 1, 2003 up to the date of the enactment of this decision.
3. To instruct the Ministries of
Foreign Affairs of Georgia and the Russian Federation to continue working on
the issues of 2002 on the presence of the
Collective Peacekeeping Forces in the conflict zone in Abkhazia in cooperation
with the Headquarters for the Coordination of Military Cooperation between the
CIS Member-States, the Provisional Working Group of the CIS for the Settlement
of the Conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia, and the Special Representative of the UN
Secretary-General for Georgia, and to submit their conclusions and
considerations to the next meeting of the Council of the Heads of States of the
CIS.
4. To inform the UN Security Council
on this Decision of the Council of States of Heads of the CIS.
The document has been written in the
Russian language in compliance with the Paragraph 5, Rule 17 of the Rules and
Procedures of the Council of Heads of States of the CIS, Council of Ministers
of Foreign Affairs and the Economic Council of the CIS. The original of the document
is stored in the Executive Committee of the CIS, which will send certified
copies of the document to each Member-State of the CIS.
Undersigned by the
Heads of Member-States of Community of Independent States.
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