PM reveals toughest issue facing Georgia

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili believes the most complicated issue his country must face is ending impunity among Government officials.

Garibashvili spoke about this and other issues at the International Leadership Forum that opened in Tbilisi today.

"Georgia is America and Europe’s dear friend and ally no matter which political party is in power in Georgia,” Garibashvili said at the event, which was organised by the Economic Policy Research Center and Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law with the support of Open Society Georgia Foundation.

He stressed his Government came into power "in the first truly free election in Georgia’s history” and took part in "the first peaceful transfer of power from one party to another”.

Garibashvili said after taking office, his team identified several key areas where reforms were critically needed, including:

• restoring the rule of law,
• establishing an independent judiciary and democratic institutions,
• protecting fundamental human rights and freedoms,
• ensuring free and fair elections, and
• ending the impunity of Government officials.

The PM said his Government started working on all of these issues with help from the European Union’s adviser Thomas Hammarberg.

Garibashvili believed his team had tacked the problem of torture in prisons; removed Governmental control over the country’s justice system and allowed an independent body to appoint new judges; and had given defendants more rights and ended coercive plea-bargaining.

"We also improved the quality of the prosecutor’s office,” he said.

"The Government rarely brags about this but I am happy to say that our prosecutor’s conviction rate has gone down. More importantly, fewer cases are even being brought to trial. The justice system will serve as the ultimate guarantor of our people’s freedom and a source of stability for the future that enables people and businesses to thrive.”

When talking about the state of human rights in Georgia, Garibashvili underlined that by working with the EU, the Government had developed a new National Human Rights Strategy and Action Plan that was designed to bring the country’s legal and institutional frameworks, as well as human rights culture and practice, in line with European standards within seven years.

"No other country has a plan like this,” the Georgian PM said proudly.

Impunity

Garibashvili believed the Government’s toughest and most complicated challenge it must face was ending impunity among Government officials.

"Sadly, many government officials in previous administrations and even my own have treated the state like their own possession,” he said.

"They have stolen money, used the elements of state power to achieve personal gains and abused their fellow citizens, especially those in the opposition or media, in an attempt to stay in power.

"For too long Government officials acted as if the law did not apply to them. That must never be allowed to happen again and those responsible most be held accountable by our justice system.”

The PM believed that if the country created a new standard where impunity was no longer tolerated and no one was above the law, Government officials would be less likely to commit crimes.

"Furthermore, now that our rule of law and judicial institutions have been strengthened, we have the tools to investigate and prosecute cases against Government officials without political interference,” Garibashvili said.