(Tbilisi, July 31, 2003, Civil Georgia) – The United Nations Security Council extended on July 30 the mandate of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) for another six months, until 31 January 2004 and endorsed Secretary General Kofi Annan’s recommendation to add a civilian police component to strengthen its capacity.
The Council welcomed the important contributions made by UNOMIG and the Collective Peacekeeping Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)!
in stabilizing the situation in the zone of conflict.
Secretary General Kofi Annan’s recent report lamented that the core political issue to the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict – the future status of Abkhazia – had not yet been addressed despite the opportunities provide by interested parties. And while he noted that the parties moved ahead on economic cooperation and refugee return, he appealed to both sides to address the political aspects of the conflict.