Day: December 22, 2025
NGOs call for chemical weapons probe in Georgia
Georgian non-governmental organisations have called on the UN’s Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to send an international mission to investigate the possible use of chemical weapons in Georgia.
In a joint statement signed by twelve NGOs, they said that the Georgian authorities had failed to conduct an effective and independent investigation into the use of chemical substances that, according to available data, may have been deployed by police to disperse protesters during pro-European demonstrations.
The NGO sector argues that, under these circumstances, the only real way to establish the truth is through an international investigation.
The NGOs addressed not only the director-general of the OPCW but also UN special rapporteurs and the Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner, asking them to respond within their mandates and assist in investigating possible serious human rights violations.
The materials provided by the independent organisations cover at least seven incidents during the Tbilisi protests in November–December 2024. According to their assessment, Georgian law enforcement officers used chemical substances mixed into water cannons, as well as other identifiable and unidentifiable toxic or experimental compounds.
Documented cases, medical examinations, testimonies from victims, and investigations by international media indicate that the chemical substances used had effects beyond the immediate period of exposure.
According to the organisations, affected protesters suffered from acute and long-term respiratory disorders, chemical burns, nervous system impairments, vision problems, and other serious health complications that persisted long after exposure.
The organisations argue that these circumstances suggest that the substances used or the methods of their deployment violated international standards, raising questions about the Georgian authorities’ compliance with human rights obligations and international law.
The NGOs sharply criticised the five-day investigation carried out by Georgia’s State Security Service, which, in their view, raised more questions than it answered.
They said the report presented by the SSS “confirmed” that the Ministry of Internal Affairs possessed the toxic chemical coded UN1710, even though the ministry denied its use except on the night of 4–5 December 2024.
According to the NGOs, it remains unclear whether this substance was used in other documented cases. In addition, the investigation did not publish important expert conclusions, laboratory analysis results, or other critically necessary information for an independent assessment.
Against this backdrop, the NGOs are calling on the OPCW director-general to use their mandate to consider sending a special mission to Georgia. They argue that international engagement is essential not only to investigate possible serious violations in the past but also to prevent them in the future.
The statement also emphasises that victims of chemical weapons have the right to full information about the substances used, so they can receive proper medical care and assess long-term health risks.
The NGO sector also welcomed the initiative of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which called on the human rights commissioner to investigate the use of chemical weapons against demonstrators in Georgia.
“Our goal is not only to establish the truth but also to prevent violence and protect the fundamental principles of international law in Georgia,” the Georgian NGOs said, urging international organisations to respond promptly and effectively to possible violations.
BBC investigation
On 1 December 2025, the British outlet BBC published an investigation claiming that the Georgian government may have used a World War I–era chemical substance to suppress anti-government protests in late 2024.
The article states that BBC journalists spoke with chemical weapons experts, sources within Georgia’s police special forces (including former head of the Arms Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Special Operations Unit, Lasha Shergelashvili), and doctors, and found that water cannons used to disperse protests may have contained a substance called bromobenzyl cyanide, or “camite.”
The publication notes that “camite” was first used by France against Germany during World War I. There is little information on its subsequent use, but it is believed to have been withdrawn in the 1930s due to the prolonged effects of exposure. Tear gas was subsequently used as a replacement.
Georgia’s State Security Service (SSS) says that the chemical powder used against citizens via water cannons was chlorobenzylidene malononitrile, which, they claim, was acquired by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2007.
At a briefing, SSS first deputy chief Lasha Magradze stated that the Ministry of Internal Affairs never purchased “camite,” as mentioned in the BBC report. Magradze also stressed that the substances used by the ministry are not classified as prohibited.
The Security Service says it is investigating the BBC report along two lines. According to Magradze, the inquiry into the possible use of “camite” has already been completed.
The investigation into a potential crime under Article 319 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, related to providing assistance to a foreign organisation in hostile activities, is ongoing.
NGOs call for chemical weapons probe in Georgia
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A group of twelve Georgian civil society organizations said they appealed to key international watchdogs to review what they described as serious human rights violations, including “the use of chemical and experimental crowd-control agents” by law enforcement during November-December 2024 demonstrations in Tbilisi.
The CSOs said they informed the Director-General of Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), UN Special Rapporteurs, and Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner about seven episodes where “per existing evidence, law enforcers used chemical substances, including chemical irritants mixed with water cannons and other identified and unidentified toxic and experimental compounds that caused heavy and lasting health damage among the demonstrators.”
“We have called on the OPCW director-general to exercise his mandate and consider the possibility of dispatching a fact-finding or investigative mission to Georgia,” said Nino Lomjaria, director of Georgia’s European Orbit, as she read out the joint statement on December 22.
“In parallel, we have addressed United Nations special rapporteurs and the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights to ensure a response within their respective mandates, provide international oversight and contribute to establishing the truth in order to protect the rights of those affected,” she added.
Lomjaria said the appeal was aimed “not only to investigate possible grave violations committed in the past, but also to prevent future violence and uphold the fundamental principles of international law in Georgia,” adding that those affected have the right to be fully informed about what chemical compounds were used against them during the dispersals.
The statement comes weeks after BBC Eye published an investigation alleging the use of “WWI-era” toxic substance camite against Georgian protesters during last year’s pro-EU protests.
The findings echoed longstanding concerns raised by protesters, human rights groups and medical professionals, many of whom have reported long-term health complications following exposure during rallies.
The ruling Georgian Dream party denied the allegations and threatened to sue the BBC. The officials, however, confirmed a substance, but not camite, was mixed in the water cannons. On December 6, the State Security Service of Georgia said it completed the investigation, concluding the substance used by police against protesters over the years, including during dispersals on December 4-5, was CS gas and said authorities had “never purchased camite.” The agency, however, didn’t specify whether they used any substance on other days of dispersals.
The CSOs dismissed the explanation. “The State Security Service’s so-called five-day investigation and the ‘conclusion’ it presented raised questions and suspicions instead of providing answers,” the December 22 statement said, adding that it “once again demonstrated that there is no effective, independent or credible investigative mechanism in Georgia.”
Calls for an independent international investigation into the alleged use of toxic chemicals have persisted over the past weeks in Georgia. Concerns were also raised by Michael O’Flaherty, CoE Human Rights Commissioner, who said in a December 10 letter to Prosecutor General Giorgi Gvarakidze that while he had been assured during a January visit that police did not deploy water cannons containing chemical irritants, “several officials … have acknowledged that chemical substances were mixed into the water.”
The signatories of the joint statement include Sapari; Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA); Georgian European Orbit; Prevention for Progress (PFP); Georgian Center for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GCRT); Democracy Defenders; Civil Society Foundation (CSF); Social Justice Center; Academy of Georgia’s Future; International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED); Transparency International Georgia; Economic Policy Research Center.
Also Read:
- 03/12/2025 – Georgian State Security Service Summons Those Featured in BBC Report
- 02/12/2025 – Georgian Authorities Deny Use of Camite After BBC Investigation
- 03/12/2024 – Watchdog Details “Inhuman and Degrading Treatment” Against Protesters by Police
- 21/10/2024 – MIA Admits to Mixing Tear Gas in Water Canons During Protests Against Agents’ Law
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