The UN General Assembly, in its 76th session, with the unprecedented number of votes – 95 in favor - adopted a resolution on the Status of Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees from Abkhazia, Georgia and the Tskhinvali Region / South Ossetia, Georgia.

The resolution is an initiative of Georgia along with 60 other member states from various regions of the world.

Georgia has been submitting this resolution to the UN General Assembly since 2008.

The resolution: affirms the right of IDPs to return to their homes in safety and dignity, regardless of ethnicity; emphasizes the need to respect and protect their property rights; reaffirms the unacceptability of forced demographic changes.

Meanwhile, the resolution instructs the UN Secretary-General to prepare an annual report on the implementation of the resolution, which is an important international instrument for the monitoring of human rights situation in the occupied regions of Georgia, as well as for raising awareness on the problems related to the return of refugees and IDPs to their homes.