Foreign officials express support for, solidarity with LGBTQI+ individuals in Georgia
May 17 was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. Photo: coe.int
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Ambassadors of the EU, US, UK and UN, in addition to other high-ranking foreign officials, have ‘welcomed the efforts’ undertaken by the Georgian government to help the LGBTQI+ community and other vulnerable and marginalised groups 'weather the pandemic', urging them ‘to heed their voices and address their needs without bias or discrimination’.
The discrimination and stigma that LGBTQI+ people routinely face in accessing healthcare and other social services can prove fatal in the #COVID19 pandemic.
— UNDP in Georgia (@UNDPGeorgia) May 17, 2020
On this #IDAHOBIT, we express support for and solidarity with the LGBTQI+ community in #Georgia. https://t.co/zJKsgGlgrD
Today marks 30 years since the World Health Organisation recognised that homosexuality is not a mental disorder.
On this International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), we express our support for and solidarity with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) community in Georgia”, the joint statement reads.
Noting that this year’s IDAHOBIT ‘passes in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic’, the foreign officials said ‘no one is immune from the health threat, nor from the risks to livelihoods that stem from the measures imposed to halt the outbreak’.
On this date last year, the international community in Georgia spoke out about the discord between the sweeping human rights protections enshrined in law, including the prohibition of all discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and the routine prejudice and violence that LGBTQI+ persons face in their everyday reality”, they said.
Commending the steps taken since then, the foreign officials ‘look forward to firm commitments and swift, coordinated action to deliver on this plan’.
They said Government officials at all levels 'need to work with resolve to create the conditions' to enable LGBTQI+ persons 'to exercise their rights and express their identities without risk or fear'.
The responsibility does not end here, however. Religious and community leaders, civil society and the wider public all have crucial roles to play in creating a climate of tolerance in Georgia”, the foreign officials added.
The joint statement also notes that the COVID-19 pandemic ‘has shown Georgia at its best, with individuals acting in solidarity to ensure that their own actions do not jeopardize others’.
Today is #IDAHOBIT. Today, we fly the flags for all colleagues who haven’t come out yet, for all who have come out and for all our allies! pic.twitter.com/ALJpYw0IrM
— European Central Bank (@ecb) May 17, 2020
Looking ahead, they said, ‘this spirit needs to embrace the full diversity of Georgian life, including the LGBTQI+ individuals, ‘in the interest of building a harmonious and resilient society’.
Tbilisi Pride, which was scheduled to take place earlier today, has been cancelled “due to increased threats”, as clerics, nationalist groups and their supporters have gathered at different locations in Tbilisi to prevent the march from taking place.
Turmoil around the first Tbilisi Pride - a week-long event dedicated to the rights of LGBT individuals - continues as organisers decided yesterday to hold the events despite threats coming from nationalist groups. the organisers said earlier today that LGBT march will not be held on the central streets of Tbilisi.
The Georgian Interior Ministry has launched an investigation regarding a threat made by businessman Levan Vasadze last week to create self-organised groups in Tbilisi to prevent the holding of LGBT events during upcoming Tbilisi Pride – a week-long event to raise public awareness about the rights of sexual minorities in the country.
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs says that the number of people charged with crimes of discrimination tripled in 2018 compared to 2017.
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that a police raid on an LGBT NGO office in Tbilisi back in 2009 under the United National Movement government was motivated by homophobic or transphobic hatred and constituted a breach of human dignity.
Georgian law enforcers have detained an individual, identified only as L.K. (born in 1990), for gender-based violence in Tbilisi, reports the press office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The Georgian public registry has agreed for the first time to officially change the indication of a transgender individual’s gender from male to female for the first time. The applicant, who had undergone the gender reassignment surgery, has received the renewed birth certificate.
On International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), the diplomatic corps and international organisations express support for and solidarity with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) community in Georgia.
Right-wing businessman Levan Vasadze, who has recently founded political movement Unity, Essence, Hope, has urged the government to cancel Tbilisi Pride events between 1-5 July.
Civic platforms No to Phobia, Coalition for Equality and other civic organisations have responded to statements by Irakli Kobakhidze, the chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party and David Sergeenko, member of the same party, which concern the pride parade planned by Tbilisi Pride and partner organisations to take place on July 5.
A new survey under the United Nations Joint Programme for Gender Equality has revealed a decreasing tendency of negative attitudes toward the LGBTQI community in Georgia, while still pointing out a “significant challenge” in the protection of the rights of queer people.
The Georgian Government’s responsibility to safeguard the rights to peaceful assembly of LGBTQI+ persons, prevent discrimination and violence and ensure commemoration of IDAHOBIT, the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia “openly and publicly” were stressed by the diplomatic missions in Georgia on Monday.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party in the Parliament, on Wednesday rejected claims by domestic opposition groups and civil sector that the party had plans to back a potential bill banning “LGBT propaganda” and hampering the country’s European integration.