What are 60 Georgian NGOs, media community asking of the EU Council President?
The statement reads that 'we are grateful for your engagement and continuous efforts' supporting the rule of law and fundamental freedoms in Georgia, but the efforts are even more important now 'against the backdrop of recent developments' in Georgia.’ Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Civil society and media organisations of Georgia have published an open letter to President of the European Council Charles Michel today in which they urge him to continue 'your close engagement with Georgia’s leadership and speak publicly against democratic setbacks, and work with Georgia’s civil society to ensure the country’s progress on the path to the Euro-Atlantic integration'.
The statement reads that 'we are grateful for your engagement and continuous efforts' supporting the rule of law and fundamental freedoms in Georgia, but the efforts are even more important now 'against the backdrop of recent developments' in Georgia.’
The ruling party’s failure to implement the EU and the US-mediated April 19 agreement is likely to further undermine the public’s confidence in the judiciary and has already led to harsh criticism by Georgia’s international partners.
Despite repeated calls to pause nominations until the adoption of meaningful judicial reforms, the ruling Georgian Dream party approved six Supreme Court judges, ignoring the criticism of local civil society groups, but also that of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights", reads the statement.
Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
The statement notes that there seems to be no political will to fundamentally change the country's electoral system.
Despite the resignation of the Central Election Commission Chair, the independence of the election administration remains problematic. Because of the high significance of the upcoming municipal elections, and likelihood of serious flaws in them, intense scrutiny by international and domestic stakeholders is warranted", reads the statement.
The statement continues that the 'unchecked homophobic violence' earlier this month was 'a major setback, undermining fundamental freedoms in the country and questioning Georgia’s democratic aspirations'.
The Georgian government failed to protect or condemn violence against its citizens by far-right groups, tacitly or openly supported by representatives of the Orthodox Church... Now more than ever, Georgia’s international partners should stand united in support of democracy and fundamental freedoms in the country", the statement reads.
The open letter is signed by 60 organisations, including, Alliance of Broadcasters, Institute for Development of Freedom of Information, International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, Transparency International - Georgia, Georgian Young Lawyers Association, Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics, Georgian Democracy Initiative, Georgian Association of Small and Medium Telecommunication Operators, Open Society Foundation and Georgian Regional Media Association.
“We are a sovereign and independent state. We are doing everything, and we are a distinguished star among the EU Eastern Partnership states, with our reforms, achievements”, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has told journalists today. In his comments he has assessed recent political developments in Georgia, country's EU aspirations, media freedom in Georgia, relations with US and recent appointment of Supreme Court judges.
The ruling Georgian Dream party says all conditions of the EU-mediated agreement ending months of political standoff in April 2021 have been fulfilled amid the US State Department’s criticism over the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court. The agreement had called for a moratorium on the appointment of judges before the implementation of wide-scale judicial reforms.
The US State Department has called on the Georgian government to suspend the process of the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court, urging the authorities to implement the April 19 EU-mediated agreement which ended months of a political standoff caused by the parliamentary elections of 2020. The US State Department says that ‘comprehensive, transparent, and inclusive judicial reform’ must be carried out before the process can continue.
The US Embassy to Georgia has stated that the appointment of judges to the country’s Supreme Court is ‘extremely disappointing,’ noting that Georgian leaders, including the ruling Georgian Dream party, failed to fulfil the obligation under the April 19 EU-mediated agreement which ended months of political standoff. The Georgian parliament appointed six judges out of nine candidates to the country’s Supreme Court on July 12, despite calls from the international community, NGOs and opposition to place a moratorium on the process.