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International
human rights organisations, civil society groups, and election
observers are urging European and national leaders to promptly address
the Georgian government’s attempt to crackdown on civil society as the
country approaches its General Elections in October.
Since
April 15th Georgians have been rallying in protest against the proposed
“Transparency of Foreign Influence” law, which bears striking
resemblance to the Russian so called “Foreign Agent Law”. This law
threatens to equip the government with tools to suppress civil society
and independent media, derailing Georgia from its democratic path
towards EU integration.
Urgent and decisive international political support for the
Georgian civil society is crucial to defend Georgian democracy from
Russian-style authoritarianism.
The “Transparency of Foreign Influence” law would require
organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to
register as agents of foreign influence. Failure to comply would subject
them to forced registration and investigation by the Ministry of
Justice of Georgia. By passing this law before the October 26th
elections, the ruling party in Georgia would gain a significant means to
greatly restrict citizen oversight of the electoral process, something
never seen before to this extent.
Russian inspired “Foreign Influence” law is an instrument to crackdown on civil society and independent media
Similar legislation on “Foreign Agents” has been introduced in Russia
in 2012. Increasingly repressive amendments to the law led to the
complete annihilation of independent media and civil society activity in
Russia. Independent election watchdog Golos was one of the first
declared “foreign agent”. Today, independent citizen election
observation in Russia is fully prohibited. In 2022, the European Court
of Human Rights ruled that the Russian “Foreign agents” law violated the
European Convention on Human Rights.
Georgian authorities resort to violence against peaceful protesters
On May 2, 2024, Georgian police turned violent against peaceful
protestors using tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons, detaining
dozens of people. The unprecedented use of violence by the Georgian
authorities to suppress peaceful protests against the law emphasises the
critical need for the international community to support the Georgian
people.
Recommendations
1. EU Heads of States and Governments should acknowledge the urgency
of the matter as once the legislation is passed the deterioration of
civil society and electoral integrity may accelerate severely.
2. EU should urge Georgian government to investigate recent cases of
pressure and harassment against citizen election observers and human
rights defenders in the country.
3. EU member states and their representatives in Georgia should show
solidarity with the Georgian people who took to the streets in defense
of their democratic rights and European future.
4. Along with the Presidents of European Council and Commission as well
as the HR/VP, the diplomatic community in Georgia should show presence
on the streets of Georgia in solidarity with the Georgian people.
In case the Georgian government should adopt the repressive
law, we propose following five recommendations to be considered by
European institutions:
1. The European Commission should put on hold Georgia’s EU
integration process which requires the government in Tbilisi to fulfill
the nine steps set out by the European Commission which include ensuring
a free, fair and competitive electoral process.
2. The European Commission should follow the European Parliament’s
resolution of April 25, 2024 and introduce restrictive measures such as
travel ban and asset freeze against Georgian oligarch Bidzina
Ivanishvili for his role in the deterioration of the political process
in Georgia, as well as sanctions against those responsible for the
violent crackdown on peaceful protestors.
3. The European Commission should suspend budget support to Georgia and financing of government-led projects.
4. European Institutions increase financial support and explore
alternative ways of supporting Georgian civil society and democratic
movements, including through the European Endowment for Democracy.
5. The EU and its Member States should support a large-scale and
long-term election observation effort both through international
institutions as the OSCE/ODIHR and domestic observers in the run-up to
the parliamentary elections in October.
Background:
In early 2023, the parliamentary majority announced a draft law on
“Transparency of Foreign Influence”. The government ultimately dropped
the legislation in response to public protest, but have reintroduced a
similar version of the bill in April 2024. Despite promises to terminate
its plans, the ruling Georgian Dream faction reintroduced the
“Transparency of Foreign Influence” bill and adopted it in the first
reading on April 17, 2024 with the third and final reading set to take
place on May 17, 2024.
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