Georgian Ambassador to the UN

Georgia has Certain Political Weight in UN Corridors and Can Hold its Own Sway - The Georgian Ambassador to the UN

The United Nations is a multinational body that brings countries around the world together to actively draw up strategies to address plethora of challenges faced by humanity. Tornike Kakalashvili, in a discussion with Ambassador Kaha Imnadze, Permanent Representative of Georgia to the United Nations, was given key insights into Georgia’s participation and positioning in UN affairs.

How would you describe Georgia’s participation in the work of the United Nations?

Georgia’s participation is quite active. Despite the relatively small size of our Mission, we are practically involved in every process revolving around the three main pillars of the U.N (i.e. peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights), as well as the UN reform to make the organization more fit to purpose support our evolving reality, and Georgia actively contributes to the activities of various U.N bodies and agencies. This is also seen during the committee work and debates, when expressing our country’s position on relevant issues and work, and when working with like-minded countries on a plethora of resolutions and various activities. I can say without exaggeration that Georgia is a responsible member-state and a reliable partner country. Georgia draws some political weight in UN corridors and sure holds its own sway in the family of nations.

What do you consider to be some of Georgia’s important diplomatic accomplishments in the United Nations?

Forgive me if this question would lead me on an emotional trail, but when speaking about accomplishments, it is worth to mention perhaps at a first glance a seemingly insignificant but in fact quite an important accomplishment. Nothing compares to the feeling when your idea becomes a reality, when a dream comes true. Personally and for each of the members of our Mission this was a very exciting and memorable moment. United Nations issued a postage stamp commemorating the 850th anniversary of Shota Rustaveli’s epic “A Knight in Panther’s Skin”. It took months and months of preparation, drawing up agreements and dealing with other formalities until it came to fruition, as so far, a one of kind and a unique case for UN history. This is the first time a stamp was created to honor a medieval thinker and public figure that lived long before the creation of the United Nations. The stamp will surely become a historical artefact and a matter for pride for generations to come. This achievement emphasizes that Georgia is a country of great culture, an ancient civilization with an authentic writing system (a quote from Rustaveli “Who seeks not a friend is his own foe” – epitomizing UN ideals - is written in Georgian). The map of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders imprinted on the sheet outlines our sovereignty and territorial integrity, while the denomination of stamps in Euros signifies our European identity. The stamp was issued on 26 May, 2018, a date which marked the 100th anniversary since the formation of the First Democratic Republic of Georgia. Of course, all of these didn’t happen randomly. It was a conscious effort from our team. The official presentation which was held in the UN headquarters was webcasted by UN and aired by several Georgian TV stations. We celebrated Georgia’s National Day and the 100th anniversary of the first republic this way, and it was quite spectacular. The U.N premises were permeated with a brilliant fusion of Georgian folk music and jazz, arranged by very talented musician Giorgi Mikadze and performed by his quintet and soloists from the “Basiani” ensemble. I was extremely happy and honored that I happened to be my country’s Permanent Representative to UN on this very day and not years and years before or after, and that I did a worthwhile thing for my country. This really was a brilliant joint team effort from my co-workers and interns, who all equally invested in making of this success story. Pardon once again my little emotional detour, and to come back to your question, it’s hard to say what our most important achievement is. But I’d say it’s growing the awareness of our country within the U.N quarters and in the international arena in general. As Georgia’s political weight grows, it is becoming easier to address the challenges that face us. This is what Georgian diplomacy is working on both in Tbilisi and abroad. Positioning our country in the international system and protecting our national interests is a daily routine for us at the Mission. Same goes to other diplomatic stations. It’s a work in progress. Often such daily routines go unnoticed but it is laborious work which is underway on the level of experts (which is very important), as well on the level of ambassadors. This is the way the UN corridors work and we, obviously, are not an exception. This often unnoticed daily routine creates a foundation for swift action and mobilizing your international support base at critical times. It is also hard to talk about our biggest diplomatic achievement when we are still grappling with our biggest challenge – the restoration of our territorial integrity. The priority of our work in the U.N and elsewhere is focused on this issue. We have not yet achieved this goal but we are certainly on the right track, and some of our accomplishments do talk to that point.

The U.N General Assembly adopts the annual Resolution that Recognizes the Right of Return for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Georgia. The election of Georgian candidates for various UN bodies and agencies is also part of success story. Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili was elected as Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Mrs. Lia Nadaraia was re-elected as a member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CE- DAW). I consider this as a significant diplomatic achievement for Georgia, and to note, the contribution of our Mission for this success was also quite sizeable. Let me also stress that when we speak about success in the UN, one should not take it as an isolated effort of our Mission only. It is a common endeavor of the entire Georgian corps diplomatique. When the action is on the U.N arena, our mission is naturally on the frontline. We recommend strategy directions to our capital. Then the work ensues throughout the entire system of Georgian diplomacy, involving our embassies in relevant capitals as well, all coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In other cases, our colleagues may be on the “front line” in a particular country or in some regional international structures, and would turn to our Mission to fulfill an auxiliary or supportive role. At the end of the day, every win is a result of a joint effort of the Georgian diplomacy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to which we and other Georgian missions or embassies are a part of.

Since 2008, the UN General Assembly consecutively adopted the resolution initiated by Georgia on the “Status of Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees from Abkhazia, Georgia and the Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, Georgia” which, reaffirms the fundamental rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). First is their right to voluntary, safe and dignified return to their homes. The growing number of supporters who embraced the resolution should be considered as a success of Georgian diplomacy, however, as we know, the resolution is not mandatory so, given that reality, what does this connote for the Georgian side?

U.N General Assembly’s resolutions are not obligatory, except those adopted by the United Nations Security Council, but in some cases even they are not being fulfilled to its full extent, some are even violated. Despite this glaring fact, these resolutions, decisions and acts make up the international system of today. Even though they are not mandatory, they have important political and legal undertones, as the United Nations is the world’s largest and most legitimate international organization. Decisions made in the UN and other international organizations make Georgia’s issue (the issue of sovereignty and territorial integrity) strong as we proceed stepwise. That’s why it’s vital that we adopt them annually. Each voting process has led us to wins, which are no less emotional compared to Rustaveli’s postage stamp mentioned earlier. It’s good when the number of supporting countries is increasing, but many things during the voting depend on the existing political dynamic on the international arena, on situations in different sub-regions or political-diplomatic conditions, on the aspects of military or bilateral relations, or domestic and political situation in certain countries. Thus, certain “tremors” and oscillations in the voting patterns, increase or decrease in the numbers of resolution supporter countries are possible. We’ve had countries that we had “lost” as supporters due to above reasons but have regained few years later. The most important thing is that we have the resolution and this resolution is adopted each year. In addition, we have a second one in Geneva, at the UN Human Rights Council, which addresses human rights related issues on the Russian occupied Georgian territories. We should view these two resolutions in a single context, and I would add to that the relevant Georgia related documents or activities of the OSCE and the Council of Europe. This is the big picture that I would call the work of Georgian diplomacy in the international arena. And lastly, when asked about the value or importance of our IDP resolution. If it had none, our adversary wouldn’t have been spending so much resource and energy to “fight” against it.

Last year, you were appointed as one of the co-Chairs of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council Reform. What was your duty as a co-chair?

That was a one-year “post”. It is a common and established practice that Ambassadors/Permanent Representatives facilitate processes in UN. The United Nations is not just the UN secretariat or the landmark building in New York. The U.N belongs to the member-states and as such, the processes are led and facilitated by the representatives of the member-states who temporarily put on “international hats” instead of their “national” ones. It is a sort of “additional workload”, because in this case you are not only working to resolve your country’s issues, but you’re also working for the interest of the international community. Selection of ambassadors and their appointment is done by the President of the United Nations General Assembly after due consultations with member-states. Although the role lasts for a year, the work is continuous and is usually assigned to another ambassador after the next assembly’s session.

Chairing and facilitation of any of these processes is a tremendous honor for any ambassador as it attests to his personal recognition and appreciation from colleagues and member-states. It is a huge responsibility as well. Although ambassadors are there as co-facilitators in their personal capacity, the benefit of a “recognition” of this kind spreads on their own countries too. It’s a prestige for the country as well.

As for our duties, the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates and I facilitated the negotiations with the aim of achieving convergence of positions and broader consensus among the member-states for the reform of the Security Council to proceed with the widest possible consensus. We held consultations with country groupings and individually with countries. The sessions were held in a formal format and with interactive dialogues. The issue at hand was the most complex and complicated one as it touches the geopolitical interests of many countries on the global and regional level. Consequently, the progress was rather slow too. During our co-chairmanship, we managed to achieve tangible progress and we were able to put down a consolidated outcome document, building on last year’s paper and incorporating it in all of the previous ones. Of course when grappling with such a complex issue you cannot keep everyone happy or satisfied, but the measure of success is to keep everyone equally unsatisfied too. I think we had that sort of equilibrium. The progress made was tangible and was recognized by the UN General assembly oral decision as well.

As a Georgian Ambassador to the UN, do you think that it is necessary to reform the UN security council, given the fact that there are many cases where permanent members of the United Nations Security Council use “veto power” to block important issues, which makes the UN an incapable and ineffective organization. For example, the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia ended on 15 June 2009, when Russia vetoed an extension of the mission.

Certainly; your question already suggests an answer, which is affirmed in practice as well. Reform is needed and restrictions in the usage of “veto power” is a key element. There are already many proposals in this regard. A group of countries, which we also belong to, actively lobbies against “veto power”. Without delving into too much detail, let me say in short that “veto power” must be restricted when it comes to crimes against humanity, especially when a country that has “veto power” is directly involved in the conflict.

As you know, along with the five permanent members (I mean China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), the UN Security Council has 10 non-permanent members that hold their seats on a geographic region rotating basis, where they are elected by the UN General Assembly for two-year terms. Georgia has never been a non-permanent member of that important UN body. What do you think about this and how realistic is it to see Georgia elected to the UNSC in the nearest future? Did you work on that issue?

Membership in the UN Security Council requires huge resources (human and financial) from the country. When you are a member of the Council, you should be adequately aware of the situation in every “hot spot” of the world and you should have your own position and standing in this regard. If this is not the case, then the Council membership may even be harmful for your country’s reputation and international image. I think today Georgia is ready to take on such a responsibility. However, there is a certain delicate moment that needs to be taken into account. Members to the Council are elected based on equitable regional representation. Elections could be competitive or with a ‘clean slate’. Georgia’s friends and partner countries from our regional group have already filed their applications to the Security Council for the coming years, so our “jumping in” and turning a ‘clean slate’ into a competitive election does not seem neither descent nor wise. Therefore, few years ago we too made our bid for the first available ‘clean slate’ for 2040-2041.

Since we are talking about the main elective bodies of the UN, let me also mention that we were member of the Economic-Social council for the term 2014-2016. We are a member of the human rights council for 2016-2018 and we have re-applied to the membership for 2023-2025. I was vice-president of the UN general assembly in 2014-2015. We have presented our candidacy for the same position for the 83rd Session of the General Assembly in 2028-2029, and for the Presidency of the General Assembly in 2042.

Syria recognized the independence of Russian-occupied Georgian territories: Abkhazia and “South Ossetia”. Does that illegal action threaten the non-recognition policy of Georgia? Should Georgia expect other countries to recognize the “independence” of these occupied regions in the future as a result of Russian pressure? Do you think that the Syrian recognition would influence a sort of chain reaction? What do you do to prevent that from happening?

The non-recognition policy, and in general, upholding and safeguarding our country’s sovereignty, and restoration of territorial integrity is a top priority for Georgian diplomacy. There’s a lot that we do in this regard but for obvious reasons I will not go into detail. Resolutions or other decisions adopted in UN and other international organizations can also be viewed through the prism of no-recognition policy. To speak specifically about the recognition of the Russian-occupied Georgian territories as independent countries by the Assad regime – and not as much by the state of Syria - I do not think that this will lead to any “chain reaction”. The Assad regime itself is no longer legitimate in its own region. If we look at a handful of countries, which recognized our occupied territories as independent states under Russian pressure or bribing or other influence, one could clearly see that these very countries have serious issues related to human rights, conflicts or lack of legitimacy of respective governments in their own country. We’ve had few cases when some leaders of particular countries recognized Georgian territories as sovereign states for their personal benefits, but after a while, following the change of leadership and normalization of situations in those nations, withdrew the recognition. So, I believe that the decision of recognition made by the Assad regime has the same lifespan as the regime itself.