Lebedev: UN Special Representative's report on his visit to South Ossetia is lopsided and biased

The Russian delegation labelled as politicized the report of Walter Kelin, Special Representative of Secretary General of the United Nations on Internally Displaced Persons' Rights, which summed up his visit to South Ossetia. The report was presented on March 8 at the 13th Session of the United Nations on Human Rights (HRS) held in Switzerland. In the opinion of Mikhail Lebedev, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation at the UN Branch and other international organizations in Geneva, the report is lopsided, biased and contains factual mistakes.

When presenting his report at the HRS, Mr Kelin admitted that the situation in South Ossetia "should not be seen as humanitarian crisis." However, in his opinion, "quite slow progress in rebuilding houses makes life there very hard for displaced persons."

Walter Kelin called all the parties to ensure, as much as they can, the right of this group of people "to voluntarily get back to their former houses in the conditions of safety and dignity, and to guarantee return of property, and where it is impossible - provide compensations and reparations." The "NEWSru" adds with reference to the Special Representative that his special concern is of the "burden these people additionally have because of the almost complete closure of the administrative border."

In his turn, Mikhail Lebedev said, in his comments on Mr Kelin's report, that "assertions about certain restrictions in humanitarian access to South Ossetia" "have nothing to do with reality." "The practice shows that for those entities, which really want to help this country, the access is free," he noted.

The diplomat called the document as a whole to be "one-sided, politicized and biased" and expressed his regret that it has "factual mistakes, for example in its very title, mentioning Georgia, not South Ossetia," the ITAR-TASS reports.

In particular, Mr Lebedev has noted that the report "gives not a word about the sufferings of the Ossetians in the aggression of the ruling Georgian regime." "Nothing is said about non-selective blows of Georgian troops on civil objects in the territory of South Ossetia, including kindergartens, schools and hospitals. There is no mentioning of documented executions of peaceful residents by Georgian militaries, deliberate destruction and desecration of monuments of Ossetian culture and Ossetian cemeteries," said the diplomat.

He emphasized that "the Russian party finds it important to respect the right of all displaced persons to voluntary, safe and worthy return to places of permanent residence" and stated that Russia "has never carried out any efficient control over the territory of South Ossetia."

As to the methods of settling the situation, in the opinion of the Russian delegation, "an agreement is needed on non-use of force between South Ossetia and Georgia," which could ensure safety in this territory. However, as the diplomat said, "Tbilisi is trying, in every possible way, to escape from addressing the issue, considered within the Geneva debates.