The Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has expressed “serious concern over the unravelling of democracy and the deep political and social crisis” in Georgia, warning that “democratic backsliding continues unabated, as does the crackdown on civil society, the political opposition, and dissent.”
The draft resolution, prepared on the basis of a report by co-rapporteurs Edite Estrela (Portugal, SOC) and Sabina Ćudić (Bosnia and Herzegovina, ALDE), regrets that “none of the Assembly’s urgent recommendations have been implemented” and notes that the ongoing unravelling of democracy “raises serious doubts about the willingness of the authorities to respect Georgia’s obligations as a member of the Council of Europe and the commitments made upon accession to the organisation.”
The Committee stressed that “membership of the Council of Europe is a privilege accompanied by rights and obligations” and that the organisation’s principles and standards “cannot be questioned or be subject to negotiation.”
PACE called “unacceptable” the initiative “to ban practically all democratic opposition parties in Georgia and to prosecute their leadership on politically motivated and fabricated charges,” warning that “if implemented, this course of action would effectively establish a one-party dictatorship in Georgia.”
The parliamentarians also warned that “the conditions for holding genuinely democratic elections are currently lacking in Georgia” due to “the relentless crackdown on the democratic opposition, civil society, and independent media, as well as extreme social and political polarisation in the country.”
The draft resolution calls for the repeal of “repressive legislation,” including amendments to the Criminal Code, the Law on Political Associations of Citizens, and the Code of Administrative Offences. It also condemns “the ongoing pressure on civil society organisations, their leadership, as well as independent media.”
Furthermore, the committee regretted that “no credible investigations have been conducted into cases of police ill-treatment and other human rights violations committed during the demonstrations,” expressing particular concern over “reports that banned chemical substances were used to disperse the protest in Tbilisi.”
Finally, the Assembly called on the Georgian authorities to fully implement the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights and the recommendations issued under the OSCE Moscow Mechanism, which, it said, “are in line with this and previous resolutions on the democratic backsliding in Georgia.”