UNGA President reiterates commitment to Georgia’s sovereignty and return rights of displaced people

Annalena Baerbock, the President of the United Nations General Assembly, stated on Friday that all internally displaced persons, refugees, and their descendants in Georgia hold an inherent right to return to their homes.

Citing the UN Secretary General’s latest report, Baerbock noted that nearly 300 000 people were registered as IDPs in Georgia as of January 2025 - a stark reminder of the massive scale and enduring nature of this humanitarian crisis.

“Behind these figures are real people whose lives remain defined by displacement”, she said. “The Secretary General’s report underscores the heavy human cost borne by those living near administrative boundary lines, where severe movement restrictions disrupt daily life and choke off access to vital humanitarian aid. These are not abstract challenges”.

“Imagine living in Georgia, Abkhazia, or the Tskhinvali region”, Baerbock continued. “Imagine being forced from your home 15 years ago, facing constant barriers to education, employment, healthcare, or just a normal life. You are cut off from grandparents, forced to abandon family farms and ancestral homes. Meanwhile, elderly relatives live behind fences and surveillance cameras, where monitoring devices can delay or block access to emergency medical care”.

She emphasized that basic acts - visiting family, tending ancestral graves, or returning to local places of worship and markets that were once part of daily life - remain largely impossible.

“This resolution is not merely a political document”, she stressed. “It is a reaffirmation of the UN Charter and General Assembly resolutions, which represent binding obligations rather than voluntary choices. Every displaced person, refugee, and descendant in Georgia has the right to return home. We must develop a framework that guarantees their voluntary, safe, dignified, and unimpeded return”.

To achieve this, Baerbock stated that all parties must act in accordance with international law, including the principles of the UN Charter and relevant General Assembly resolutions, such as Resolution 79/292.

“It is equally vital to give these principles practical meaning”, she added. “This demands sustained attention to the humanitarian and human rights situation across all affected areas of Georgia, including Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region. Humanitarian actors must have unhindered access to those who need it most - particularly elderly people, women, and children, who face heightened risks from displacement and insecurity”.

The President concluded by stating that true progress requires a steadfast commitment to peace and the UN Charter. This includes the obligation of all member states to respect Georgia’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, as reaffirmed by UN Security Council resolutions.

“We must intensify our diplomatic efforts”, Baerbock urged. “The Geneva International Discussions remain a critical forum for dialogue, and we must strengthen this process to promote peace, security, and human rights. Ultimately, our task is not just to pass resolutions, but to ensure they are meaningfully implemented”.