Politicians React to International Human Rights Day

Georgian politicians reacted to the International Human Rights Day celebrated on December 10, which this year also marks the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Georgian Dream Representatives

Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia: In the statement on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, PM Garibashvili said that the Georgian government aims to create and continuously develop mechanisms to ensure the effective protection of human rights and freedoms “with the involvement of all branches of government, public institutions, and stakeholders.” 

The statement also emphasized the strengthening of institutional democracy, stressing that the state ensures “equal entitlement to civil, political, social, cultural and economic rights” and “constantly cares for citizens affected by the occupation.”

The statement recalled the National Human Rights Strategy of Georgia, a document endorsed by the Government in 2022, and adopted by the Parliament in 2023. “It establishes a unified framework for the strengthening of the national system of fundamental human rights and freedoms and institutional democracy; serving the fulfillment of the obligations of the international community undertaken by the country; ensuring the unwavering protection of universally recognized human rights and freedoms,” – says the statement. It adds that the state institutions will continue the coordination with the civil sector in order to implement the Action Plan. 

Garibashvili praised the Government for the protection of human rights, saying that it “consistently proves its commitment to the obligation of protecting fundamental human rights and freedoms, which stands for developing and carrying out a systemic, consistent, and long-term policy.”

He also emphasized Georgia’s rapprochement with the European Union, saying that “we already have concrete tangible results, such as the Association Agreement, visa-free travel and the European perspective granted last year, also the recent honorable, prudent and wise decision of the European Commission on the candidate status.

Shalva Papuashvili, Parliament Speaker: “December 10, 2023 is a special day, as it marks the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the International Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights, and on such a day it is an opportunity to reflect once again on the achievements of different countries, especially our country, in the [protection of] human rights, and what are the challenges that we need to respond to.”

Opposition Representatives:

Giorgi Gakharia, Leader of the “Sakartvelostvis” party: “The main enemies of human rights protection in Georgia today are corruption and informal governance, as a result of which we are faced with inequality in all spheres of social and public life, the enrichment of elite groups at the expense of the impoverishment of the people; the law only legislates for some, while others have full right to go unpunished. We will only be able to truly and effectively protect the rights of our citizens if the government does not only take care of the interests of one party or one man, but of those who need it most – the average citizens. Only a non-corrupt, fair and progressive Georgia will be the true defender of the rights of all people and the guarantor of an equal and fair environment. If [this is not achieved], the protection of citizens from corruption and the protection of human rights will be only an illusion.”

Ana Natsvlishvili, “Lelo – For Georgia” party: “In a democratic country, the main defender of [human] rights should be the state institutions and the government itself… This is established by the Constitution of this country itself… It is not a new fact that Georgia is not a country ruled by law and institutions… Personally, I and my teammates fought, using all mechanisms, so that this country would not be like this and that we would get the state management based on equality and balance. Unfortunately, we could not get it.”

Paata Manjgaladze, “Strategy Aghmashenebeli” party: “First of all, the law enforcement, the police, the penitentiary system should not violate human rights, the court and the public defender should be in their place, none of them are in their place. Talking about Georgia being an advanced [country] in the protection of human rights is not serious, because we have seen the report of the Public Defender, which unfortunately contains the cases of violation of human rights in prisons, as well as the facts when people talk about violation of human rights during arrest by the police; and we know many facts about violation of human rights during demonstrations and manifestations”.

Also Read:

• 11/12/2023 – Public Defender Addresses Human Rights Challenges in Georgia on the International Human Rights Day
• 07/11/2023 – UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Praises “Strong” Civil Society in Georgia, Criticizes Government

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian)