[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 106 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 106

Expressing the sense of the Senate to support the territorial integrity 
                              of Georgia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 30, 2017

    Mr. Wicker (for himself and Mr. Cardin) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Senate to support the territorial integrity 
                              of Georgia.

Whereas principle IV of the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 states, ``The 
        participating States will respect the territorial integrity of each of 
        the participating States. Accordingly, they will refrain from any action 
        inconsistent with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the 
        United Nations against the territorial integrity, political independence 
        or the unity of any participating State, and in particular from any such 
        action constituting a threat or use of force . . . and participating 
        States will likewise refrain from making each other's territory the 
        object of military occupation.'';
Whereas the Charter of the United Nations states, ``All Members shall refrain in 
        their international relations from the threat or use of force against 
        the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.'';
Whereas, since 1993, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia have 
        been reaffirmed by the international community in all United Nations 
        Security Council resolutions on Georgia;
Whereas the Government of Georgia has pursued a peaceful resolution of the 
        conflict with Russia over Georgia's territories of Abkhazia and the 
        Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia;
Whereas the recognition by the Government of the Russian Federation of Abkhazia 
        and Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia on August 26, 2008, was in violation 
        of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia and 
        contradicting principles of Helsinki Final Act of 1975, the Charter of 
        the United Nations, and the August 12, 2008, Ceasefire Agreement;
Whereas the United States-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership, signed on 
        January 9, 2009, underscores that ``support for each other's 
        sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and inviolability of 
        borders constitutes the foundation of our bilateral relations.'';
Whereas, according to the Government of Georgia's ``State Strategy on Occupied 
        Territories'', the Government of Georgia has committed itself to a 
        policy of peaceful engagement, the protection of economic and human 
        rights, freedom of movement, and the preservation of cultural heritage, 
        language, and identity for the people of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali 
        region/South Ossetia;
Whereas the August 2008 war between the Russian Federation and Georgia resulted 
        in civilian and military casualties, the violation of the sovereignty 
        and territorial integrity of Georgia, and large numbers of internally 
        displaced persons;
Whereas the annual United Nations General Assembly Resolution on the ``Status of 
        Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees from Abkhazia, Georgia and the 
        Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia, Georgia'' recognizes that the right of 
        return of all internally displaced persons and refugees and their 
        descendants, regardless of ethnicity, as well as their property rights, 
        remains unfulfilled;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation is building barbed wire fences 
        and installing, so-called ``border signs'' and other artificial barriers 
        along the occupation line and depriving the people residing within the 
        occupied regions and in the adjacent areas of their fundamental rights 
        and freedoms, including, the freedom of movement, family life, education 
        in their native language, and other civil and economic rights;
Whereas the August 12, 2008, Ceasefire Agreement, agreed to by the Governments 
        of the Russian Federation and Georgia--

    (1) provides that all troops of the Russian Federation shall be 
withdrawn to pre-war positions;

    (2) provides that free access shall be granted to organizations 
providing humanitarian assistance in regions affected by the violence in 
August 2008; and

    (3) launched the Geneva International Discussions between Georgia and 
the Russian Federation;

Whereas, on November 23, 2010, President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili declared 
        before the European Parliament that ``Georgia will never use force to 
        restore its territorial integrity and sovereignty'';
Whereas, on March 7, 2013, the bipartisan Resolution of the Parliament of 
        Georgia on Basic Directions of Georgia's Foreign Policy confirmed 
        ``Georgia's commitment for the non-use of force, pledged by the 
        President of Georgia in his address to the international community from 
        the European Parliament in Strasburg on November 23, 2010'';
Whereas, on June 27, 2014, in the Association Agreement between Georgia and the 
        European Union, Georgia reaffirmed its commitment ``to restore its 
        territorial integrity in pursuit of a peaceful and lasting conflict 
        resolution, of pursuing the full implementation of'' the August 12, 
        2008, ceasefire agreement;
Whereas, despite the unilateral legally binding commitment to the non-use of 
        force pledged by the Government of Georgia, the Government of the 
        Russian Federation still refuses to reciprocate with its own legally 
        binding non-use of force pledge;
Whereas the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) is still denied access to 
        the occupied regions of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region/South 
        Ossetia, despite the fact that its mandate covers the whole territory of 
        Georgia within its internationally recognized borders;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation continues to enhance its 
        military bases illegally stationed in occupied regions of Abkhazia and 
        the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia without the consent of the 
        Government of Georgia or a mandate from the United Nations or other 
        multilateral organizations;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation continues the process of 
        aggression carried out against Georgia since the early 1990s and 
        occupation of Georgia's territories following the August 2008 Russia-
        Georgia War;
Whereas the March 5, 2017, closure of two crossing points on the Administrative 
        Boundary Line (ABL) with Abkhazia in the villages of Nabakevi and 
        Otobaia violated fundamental rights to freedom of movement, privacy, and 
        family life, as well as access to education and health care for the 
        local population, contravening commitments to work towards enhanced 
        security and improved living conditions for the conflict-affected 
        population;
Whereas President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin has ordered his 
        government to conclude an agreement to effectively incorporate the 
        military of Georgia's South Ossetia region into the Russian armed 
        forces' command structure, thereby impeding the peace process;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation's policy vis-a-vis Georgia and 
        the alarming developments in the region illustrate that the Government 
        of the Russian Federation does not accept the independent choice of 
        sovereign states and strives for the restoration of zones of influence 
        in the region, including through the use of force, occupation, factual 
        annexation, and other aggressive acts; and
Whereas the United States applied the doctrine of non-recognition in 1940 to the 
        countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and every Presidential 
        administration of the United States honored this doctrine until 
        independence was restored to those countries in 1991: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) supports the policy, popularly known as the ``Stimson 
        Doctrine'', of the United States to not recognize territorial 
        changes effected by force, and affirms that this policy should 
        continue to guide the foreign policy of the United States;
            (2) condemns the military intervention and occupation of 
        Georgia by the Russian Federation and its continuous illegal 
        activities along the occupation line in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali 
        region/South Ossetia;
            (3) calls upon the Government of the Russian Federation to 
        withdraw its recognition of Georgia's territories of Abkhazia 
        and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia as independent 
        countries, to refrain from acts and policies that undermine the 
        sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, and to take 
        steps to fulfill all the terms and conditions of the August 12, 
        2008, Ceasefire Agreement between Georgia and the Russian 
        Federation;
            (4) stresses the necessity of progress on core issues 
        within the Geneva International Discussions, including a 
        legally binding pledge from the Government of the Russian 
        Federation on the non-use of force, the establishment of 
        international security arrangements in the occupied regions of 
        Georgia, and the safe and dignified return of internally 
        displaced persons and refugees to the places of their origin;
            (5) urges the United States Government to declare 
        unequivocally that the United States will not under any 
        circumstances recognize the de jure or de facto sovereignty of 
        the Russian Federation over any part of Georgia, its airspace, 
        or its territorial waters, including Abkhazia and the 
        Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia;
            (6) urges the President to deepen cooperation with the 
        Government of Georgia in all areas of the United States-Georgia 
        Charter on Strategic Partnership, including Georgia's 
        advancement towards Euro-Atlantic integration;
            (7) urges the President to place emphasis on enhancing 
        Georgia's security through joint military training and 
        providing self-defensive capabilities in order to enhance 
        Georgia's independent statehood and national sovereignty; and
            (8) affirms that a free, united, democratic, and sovereign 
        Georgia is in the long-term interest of the United States as it 
        promotes peace and stability in the region.
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