Georgia joins Human Rights Day celebrations

The Parliament of Georgia has hosted a reception to mark Human Rights Day, which is celebrated every year on December 10.

Congratulating the guests with the date, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said today’s gathering reaffirms how important respect for human rights and rule of law is for the country’s democratic development.

A reception was held in the Parliament of Georgia to mark Human Rights Day. Photo by PM's press office

Today, we can state boldly that our progress in the past few years has created a qualitatively different reality in our country, which is a result of our Government’s robust political will and can be seen by our citizens across all areas on a daily basis", Kvirikashvili said.

He said "this achievement has also been repeatedly recognized by our international partners, putting our country in the spotlight as a modern, democratic, and developed state".

Representatives of the Georgian Government, parliament and civil society gathered at today's reception dedicated to Human Rights Day. Photo by PM's press office

Kvirikashvili said "equally disconcerting is the growing ethnicity-based discriminatory treatment of the Georgians in the occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), especially in the Gali District”.

Banning native language from schools, restricted movement, and property and other fundamental rights, illegal detention and households torn apart by barbed wires are only a few examples of the numerous consequences brought about by the policy of occupation”, he said.

Kvirikashvili further added that the Georgian government is doing everything, "be it through diplomatic, political, or peacemaking efforts, to ensure the protection of the populations in the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions, regardless of their ethnic affiliation, and to improve the humanitarian situation on the ground”.

Adopted in 1948, next year marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.