UN Security Council issued a statement on Russia's aggression against Georgia.

United Nations Security Council on Georgia

The United Nations Security Council issued a statement on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of Russia’s aggression against Georgia. Representatives of Albania, France, Japan, Malta, the United Kingdom, and the United States held a closed-door meeting dedicated to the current situation in Georgia. Following the session, Security Council member states – the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Albania, Japan, and Malta – issued a joint statement.

The member states of the United Nations Security Council reaffirm their unwavering support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia in their statement. Additionally, while condemning Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine, they also condemn Russia’s provocations in Georgia, such as the abduction of its citizens, the illegal “borderization,” military exercises in occupied regions, discrimination against ethnic Georgians, and restrictions on Georgian culture. The UN Security Council member states condemn the killings of Davit Basharuli, Giga Otkhozoria, and Archil Tatunashvili.

The Security Council member states also referred to the European Court of Human Rights’ decision in January 2021, which stated that the Russian Federation, as the controlling state in the occupied regions, is responsible for cases of gross human rights violations: the killing of civilians, torture of prisoners of war, inhumane and degrading treatment preventing the return of Georgians to their homes, and the failure to investigate human rights abuses.

The statement also mentions arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for war crimes committed against ethnic Georgian civilians during and after the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008.

The United Nations Security Council members once again call on Russia to fully implement the agreement of August 12, 2008.

What happened before:

● In 2008, Tbilisi filed a lawsuit against Russia in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In January 2016, the Pre-Trial Chamber authorized the investigation of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Georgian, Ossetian, and Russian parties before, during, and immediately after the hostilities, specifically during the period from July 1, 2008, to October 10, 2008.

● In March of this year, it was revealed that alleged cases of unlawful detention, cruel treatment, hostage-taking, and subsequent illegal deportation of ethnic Georgians had been identified.

● The jurisdiction of the ICJ extends to crimes committed on the territories of states that are parties to the Rome Statute (Georgia is one of them), regardless of the nationality of the perpetrators. From an international law perspective, South Ossetia is part of Georgia’s territory, which means that the ICJ’s jurisdiction covers crimes committed in South Ossetia for which Russian citizens are responsible, even though Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute.

● On December 19, 2022, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague completed its investigation of crimes committed during the August war (from July 1 to October 10, 2008) in the context of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

● Prosecutor Karim Khan noted that the decision to conclude the investigation phase was made for the first time in the 20-year history of the ICC. The prosecutor highlighted that during the investigation, his office examined all evidence presented by the conflict parties regarding alleged crimes.

● Previously, in the summer of 2022, as part of the aforementioned investigation, the ICC issued arrest warrants for three former South Ossetian officials in connection with their alleged culpability in crimes against humanity and war crimes.

● According to the ICC, these individuals are purportedly responsible for unlawful deprivation of liberty, torture, inhumane treatment, degradation of human dignity, hostage-taking, and illegal displacement of civilians.

● On January 21, 2021, the European Court of Human Rights delivered its final decision on the case related to the August war. Strasbourg determined that Russia is responsible for violating six articles of the European Convention on Human Rights concerning Georgian citizens, including violations of the right to life, torture, burning, and destruction of private property.