Georgia And Russia Continue their Fight In UN Court

THE HAGUE - The UN's highest court starts hearings on Monday in a bid by Georgia to end alleged rights abuses by Russia in the two countries' showdown over the rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague will hear three days of argument in a Georgian application for interim protection against "ethnic cleansing" it accuses Russia of committing on Georgian territory.

Georgia says Russia has assumed control over South Ossetia, Abkhazia and adjacent areas within Georgian territory. It claims that ethnic Georgians in these areas have been subjected to physical violence causing civilian deaths, terror, and a mass exodus of inhabitants.

"The manifest objective of this discriminatory campaign is the mass-expulsion of the ethnic Georgian population from South Ossetia, Abkhazia and other neighbouring areas of Georgia," states the application.

"It reflects a Russian policy, commencing in the 1990s, to consolidate the authority of ethnic separatists under Russia's direction and control over Georgia's territory through ethnic cleansing and denial of the right of return."

It asks the court to order Russia to stop discriminatory acts and to allow refugees to return.

Russian troops entered Georgia last month to push back Georgian forces attempting to regain control of South Ossetia, the Moscow-backed region that broke away from Tbilisi in the early 1990s.

Russia later halted a five-day offensive, but has failed to withdraw all its troops from Georgian territory. It has since recognised South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another Georgian rebel region, as independent states.

Georgia instituted proceedings against Russia before the ICJ on August 12, accusing it of breaches of the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

As it can take months for the court to decide whether or not to entertain the case, Georgia brought another application two days later asking for interim protection measures.

It is this matter that will be argued from Monday, with a decision expected within weeks. Russia has not indicated on what grounds it intends to contest the application.

The ICJ has no powers to enforce its judgments, which have on occasion been simply ignored by state parties.

The court hearings take place as French President Nicolas Sarkozy heads for Moscow on Monday. He hopes to persuade the Russian leadership to accept a European Union observer mission in the Georgian conflict zone and a date for international talks.