The 31st Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, held in Bucharest, Romania, from 29 June to 3 July, adopted the Bucharest Declaration and several resolutions, also mentioning Georgia on several occasions. The OSCE PA addressed Georgia’s adoption of the foreign agent’s law, the recent actions of the government that “undermine democracy,” and the upcoming parliamentary elections, as well as the occupation of the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali by the Russian Federation.
Foreign Agents Law, Democratic Backsliding, Government’s Recent Politics
Chapter I of the Bucharest Declaration on Political Affairs and Security addresses Georgia’s recent enactment of the foreign agents law and the country’s concurrent democratic backsliding. It expresses “grave concern” over these recent government actions, which it calls “Kremlin-supported and -aligned,” and calls on the authorities to halt attacks on civil society, media, activists, and protesters.
25. OSCE PA is “expressing grave concern regarding Kremlin-supported and -aligned efforts to undermine Georgia’s fragile democracy and subvert the Georgian population’s Euro-Atlantic choice through the current Georgian Government’s enactment of antidemocratic legislation and policies, including but not limited to the adoption of the Russian-style law on transparency of foreign influence in Georgia that will undermine human rights and disproportionally restrict basic freedoms, such as freedom of assembly and freedom of expression, and calling on Georgian authorities to cease attendant attacks on civil society, independent media, activists, and lawful protesters, which bear all the hallmarks of an extended Russian hybrid operation, and to seek rapprochement with Georgian civil society and reduce polarization in the country,” the text reads.
Chapter III, on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, also expresses its “grave concern” over the enactment of the foreign agents law and other anti-democratic actions by the government.
158. OSCE PA is “highlighting with grave concern the Georgian Government’s enactment of a Russian-style foreign agent law and an array of other policy measures and legislation that effectively undermine democracy, stifle independent civil society and media, codify a repressive governmental apparatus, and deliberately abrogate the Georgian Government’s responsibility to respect the clear and consistent will of the Georgian people, uphold the Georgian Constitution, and abide by the Helsinki Final Act and other OSCE commitments,” the document reads.
Occupied Territories
Chapter I, on Political Affairs and Security, speaks of Russia’s “occupation” of Georgian territories.
The OSCE PA reiterates its call on Russia to immediately and unconditionally withdraw its military forces from the occupied Georgian territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali in accordance with the ceasefire agreement brokered by the European Union on 12 August 2008.
It also stresses the need to continue its active engagement, particularly in the framework of the Geneva International Discussions, for a peaceful settlement of the conflict between Russia and Georgia in full respect of Georgia’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.
Chapter III, on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, also addresses and condemns Russia’s occupation of Georgian territories, in particular the deterioration of the human rights situation in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region. The clause was added to the text at the request of Maka Botchorishvili, Chairperson of the EU Integration Committee of the Georgian Parliament, and was adopted without any objection by the representatives of the session.
171. The OSCE PA “condemns the deterioration in the humanitarian and human rights situation in Georgia’s regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia occupied by the Russian Federation, as a result of violations of fundamental freedoms and human rights of people living therein, various forms of discrimination against ethnic Georgians, as well as the alteration and obliteration of Georgian features from Georgian cultural heritage monuments in both regions, as a direct consequence of the Russian Federation’s ongoing occupation and “Russification” policy,” the document reads.
During the session, when the amendment was discussed, Maka Botchorishvili said that it was important “not to leave” Georgia aside and urged the colleagues to “not forget” the Russian occupation of Georgia’s two regions.
October Parliamentary Elections
Congresswoman Victoria Spartz (IN-05) introduced another amendment to Chapter III, which concerns the observation of the upcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia. Spartz was one of the participants in the U.S. congressional hearing on support for Georgia’s sovereignty and democracy held in early June.
192. The OSCE PA “urges the OSCE, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and the OSCE PA to act in concert to develop a robust election observation mission for the Georgian parliamentary elections in October 2024 with special attention to identifying potential abuses or antidemocratic tendencies that may occur well in advance of election day and undermine the democratic integrity of the vote,” the document reads.
During the PA session, she highlighted the “concerning developments” in Georgia and said that the OSCE should develop a “risk-based” approach to ensure that the upcoming parliamentary elections in Georgia would take place in as free and fair an environment as possible.
GD Delegates Don’t Vote for the Declaration
Members of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party in Georgia’s the OSCE PA delegation, criticized several points in the OSCE PA statement that mentioned Georgia and eventually did not support it.
Maka Botchorishvili, Chair of the EU Integration Committee of the Georgian Parliament, and Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Georgian Parliament, objected to the condemnation of the foreign agents law and the call for the development of an election observation mission in view of the recent democratic backsliding in the country.
Botchorishvili, who spoke against the amendment calling for the development of an election observation mission in Georgia, said it was “neither relevant nor timely.” She argued that its adoption would create a negative perception of the pre-election environment in Georgia. While she did not address Congresswoman Spartz’s comments about democratic backsliding in Georgia, Botchorishvili claimed that Georgia had made significant efforts to implement OSCE/ODIHR recommendations and create a robust and stable system for the upcoming elections.
She emphasized that the Georgian government had already invited OSCE short- and long-term observation missions to Georgia, and amending this clause would lead to misperceptions about the elections. Botchorishvili also pointed out that elections were planned in other OSCE countries and argued that Georgia should not have been singled out in the resolution.
This very amendment was also criticized by Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Georgian Parliament, during the OSCE PA session. He decried the fact that that Georgia was singled out in the text with regard to elections, stressing that a number of elections are scheduled in other OSCE countries in the near future and none of them had been included in the text. In doing so, he sidesteped the context of democratic backsliding in which Georgia’s elections were mentioned.
Samkharadze spoke of a “targeted attack” on Georgia when he denounced the mention of the foreign agents’ law, which the GD refers to as the Transparency Law, in the OSCE PA declaration. He insisted it was a “blatant lie” to present the law as a threat to freedom of expression and assembly. Echoing GD official line which misleadingly draws parallels between Georgia’s Kremlin-inspired law and Western laws on transparency, he claimed that France and Canada have similar legislation.
Samkharadze took a particular issue with the wording of an amendment on the Russo-Georgian conflict. According to Samkharadze, the amendment proposed that “Tbilisi-controlled Georgia, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia need to reconcile.” He said this paragraph implied there were three parts to the conflict. During the session, he stated, “I thought this organization recognized only one Georgia within its internationally recognized borders, and I thought I was representing that for the last four years.” He said GD delegation won’t vote for the declaration on these grounds.
The amendment did not make it into the final document. UNM leader Tina Bokuchava, also a member of Georgia’s OSCE PA delegation said it was removed as a result of negotiations led by her.
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