US releases Human Rights Report on Georgia

The US Department of State has released its annual Human Rights Report on Georgia listing three main problems evident in the country in 2013.

These were:

• The resignation and dismissal of Government employees from local Government institutions for their alleged association with the former ruling party, United National Movement (UNM), and the Government’s insufficient response;

• Increased societal violence against members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and the Government’s failure to hold perpetrators responsible, and;

• Local Government interference with religious minorities’ rights to assemble and freely worship, and the Government’s generally insufficient response.

Other problems mentioned in the report included police abuse of detainees and substandard care, although prison conditions had improved.

"There were also allegations of politically motivated harassment,” the report read.

The report stated following the October 2012 elections, UNM members reported arbitrary harassment, job losses and arrests – including the UNM’s Secretary General, former Minister of Internal Affairs, Defense Minister and Prime Minister – due to their political affiliation or activities.

"External and internal influence on the judiciary remained a problem, although there were some positive steps,” the report noted.

The document underlined a human rights problem still remained in Georgia although in 2013, the Government took steps to promote accountability.

The report also covered the issue of illegal video recordings taken of the private lives of citizens and opposition public officials, stating: "Evidence emerged that during the Saakashvili administration, officials from the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Defense engaged [in the case]”.

"Although the media environment improved, there were reports of Government pressure on the media, especially Georgia’s Public Broadcaster,” the report said.

It was also stressed that many internally displaced persons (IDPs) continued to live in substandard or squalid conditions in 2013.

Domestic violence and people trafficking continued to remain problematic in Georgia, it claimed.

"The Government adopted a new labor code, but there was no labor inspectorate to enforce applicable laws properly. Problems persisted with workers’ fundamental freedom of association, interference with collection of dues and the failure to honor previously agreed collective bargaining agreements,” it read.

As well as highlighting the issues facing Georgia, the report noted various positive cases. The document stated the October 27 Presidential election was assessed by international organisations as "efficiently administered, transparent and took place in an amicable and constructive environment. Fundamental freedoms of expression, movement, and assembly were respected and candidates were able to campaign without restriction. The campaign environment was without major irregularities”.

The US report on Georgia covered the issue of the country’s occupied regions too.

"De facto authorities continued to restrict the rights, primarily of ethnic Georgians, to vote or otherwise participate in the political process, own property, register businesses, and travel.”

It said, with the exception of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), de facto authorities did not allow international organizations regular access to South Ossetia to provide humanitarian assistance.

"Russian "borderization” of the administrative boundary lines of the occupied territories of Georgia intensified during the year, separating Georgian residents from their communities and undermining their livelihoods,” the report said.