On December 19, four opposition forces, Coalition for Change, Strong Georgia, Unity-UNM, Gakharia for Georgia have announced the about joint address to OSCE/ODIHR, requesting the activation of the “Moscow Mechanism.”
During a briefing dedicated to the topic, Giorgi Butikashvili, member of the Coalition for Change, said: “We have finalized work on the joint letter to be sent to OSCE/ODIHR, requesting the activation of the ‘Moscow Mechanism,’ which was first used in 1991. This mechanism involves sending a special mission to Georgia by OSCE/ODIHR to thoroughly examine all violations and rigged elections, ensuring the possibility of holding free and fair elections in the future. The mission should also investigate the violent actions carried out by the Russian regime against its own population.” As he noted, the joint letter also includes a report by the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), which details the actions carried out by the “Russian regime”, against the demonstrators.
In addition, the member of the “Unity-UNM”, Giorgi Baramidze has stated that “We are facing a regrettable situation in the country, where the levers of power are temporarily held by Ivanishvili’s criminal and treacherous gang.” He also added that EU’s sanctions are approaching. “Yesterday, the office of the UNM in Gori was exploded. This all demonstrates that this regime has no intention of stopping on its own. However, fortunately, neither the Georgian people nor our friends intend to stop supporting Georgia”, he concluded.
What is the “Moscow Mechanism?”
The “Moscow Mechanism” was adopted at the third stage of the Conference on the Human Dimension in 1991, which complements and strengthens the Vienna Mechanism. “It provides the option of sending missions of experts to assist participating States in the resolution of a particular question or problem relating to the human dimension”, according to the official information by OSCE. The mechanism is designated to investigate potential human rights violations.
The “Moscow Mechanism” allows OSCE member states to investigate “serious allegations of human rights violations” in a given country, regardless of that country’s official consent.
To date, the Moscow Mechanism has been used fifteen times, including:
- In 1992: To investigate atrocities and attacks on civilians in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, invoked by 12 European Community states and the U.S.
- In 2011: By 14 OSCE states to investigate human rights violations in Belarus following the 2010 presidential election.
- In 2022: By 45 OSCE states to address human rights and humanitarian impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- In 2024: By 45 OSCE states to investigate the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Ukrainian civilians by Russia.
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