Ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia
The ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia, also known in Georgia as the genocide of Georgians in Abkhazia (Georgian: ქართველთა გენოციდი აფხაზეთში), refers to the ethnic cleansing, massacres, and forced mass expulsion of thousands of ethnic Georgians living in Abkhazia during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict of 1992–1993 and 1998 at the hands of Abkhaz separatists and their allies. Armenians, Greeks, Russians, and opposing Abkhazians were also killed.
| Ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia | |
|---|---|
A visitor at a gallery recognizes her dead son in a photograph on the 12th anniversary of the ethnic cleansing in Abkhazia, 2005. | |
| Location | Abkhazia, Georgia |
| Date | 1992–1998 |
| Target | Georgian population, Oppositions to the new Government of Abkhazia |
Attack type | Ethnic cleansing, Massacres, Deportations, others |
| Deaths | 5,000–5,738 killed |
| Victims | 200,000 – 267,345 displaced, 400 missing |
| Perpetrators | Abkhaz separatists, Russian Federation |
| Motive | Anti-Georgian sentiment |
In 2007, 267,345 Georgian civilians were registered as internally displaced persons (IDPs). The ethnic cleansing and massacres of Georgians have been officially recognized by Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) conventions in 1994, 1996, and again in 1997 during the Budapest, Lisbon, and Istanbul summits, which condemned the "perpetrators of war crimes committed during the conflict."
On May 15, 2008, the United Nations General Assembly adopted (by 14 votes to 11, with 105 abstentions) a resolution A/RES/62/249, which "Emphasizes the importance of preserving the property rights of refugees and internally displaced persons from Abkhazia, Georgia, including victims of reported "ethnic cleansing," and calls upon all the Member States to deter persons under their jurisdiction from obtaining property within the territory of Abkhazia, Georgia in violation of the rights of returnees." The UN Security Council passed a series of resolutions in which it appealed for a cease-fire.