U.S. Senate Discusses Georgia at “Anti-NGO Laws” Hearing

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee discussed developments in Georgia following the adoption of the foreign agents law as part of its September 12 full committee hearing on global anti-democratic trends.

The hearing on “Anti-NGO Laws and Other Tools of Democratic Repression” featured testimony from Eka Gigauri, head of Transparency International Georgia, an anti-corruption watchdog, along with two other testimonies from representatives of Washington-based human rights groups.

The hearing comes amid a global trend of illiberal regimes in dozens of countries introducing repressive laws against critics, including tools and legislation to curtail the work of critical nongovernmental organizations.

Opening Remarks

Senator Ben Cardin, Committee Chairman:

Senator Cardin, who chaired the hearing, spoke about the growing trends of governments using laws to target their critics. According to the Senator, while the use of defamation laws, foreign agent registration laws, and anti-ngo laws is “nothing new”, in recent years “more and more nations that we would consider mostly democratic or partially free are turning to these laws as tools of repression.”

“It is deeply concerning that democracies from Georgia to India to Turkey have used their legal systems against journalists, opposition politicians, human rights defenders, and civil societies,” the Senator said. Listing the efforts by the U.S. and the international community to counter such trends over the past years, he added that “we need to do more and time is of the essence.”

“For so many years, the Republic of Georgia has been a bright spot in the former Soviet Union,” the Senator said, pointing to the adoption of the Foreign Agents law by the Georgian ruling party in spring despite mass protests. “Amazingly, this law is modeled after a Russian law. Concerning what Russia has done to Georgia, that is unbelievable that they would follow that path that allows the government to target non-profits and activists. It intends to intimidate and ultimately force the closure of civil society voices that are out of step with the government.”

According to the Committee Chairman, the sponsors of Georgia’s Foreign Agents law have been “very clear about their intentions about which civil society actors they perceive as enemies.” The Senator then displayed a banner featuring the offensive posters hung in front of Eka Gigauris’s home. “She has to face that every morning when she walks out of her house,” he said, pointing at the intention of such offensive posters to call into question “the loyalty of the people that are advocating against these repressive laws.”

Senator Cardin also spoke of the responsibility of Congress “to take bold, legislative action to compress the use of these laws head-on and to support the bold activists that are determined to hold on to democracy.”

Senator James E Risch, Ranking Member

Senator Rish similarly described the global trends of autocrats trying to suppress opposition and silence critical voices. “This is not a partisan issue, this is a bipartisan issue, and it’s an American issue, and something we all need to work on together,” he said. The Senator said he was particularly concerned “about our friends in Georgia,” where the government has persisted in passing “the laws to restrict NGO activities” despite the warnings of the European Union that it would halt EU membership.

“I’m glad the U.S has undertaken a review of our policies towards Georgia and am supportive of the current pause and assistance,” Senator Risch said. He then recalled his trip to Georgia with Senator Jean Shaheen back in 2012 (when Georgian Dream came to power), to witness “the first real free and fair election.”

“Both of us were very pleased with what happened and the way it was initially received,” he said, adding that they have since been disappointed by the regression of democracy in the country. The Senator then expressed hope that “things turn around in Georgia.”

Testimony of Eka Gigauri, Executive Director of TI Georgia

TI Georgia Head Eka Gigauri spoke about the “alarming and growing trend” of introducing anti-NGO laws worldwide, sharing a “local perspective” as well as the individual experience of being targeted as a human rights defender in Georgia.

“In countries like Georgia, when such laws are introduced, autocrats amplify Russian anti-Western disinformation, cultivate social division, and undermine partnerships with the U.S. and the EU—all against the will of the majority of citizens,” Gigauri told Senators. According to Gigauri, prevailing in this struggle would require both “unity among proactive citizens who have chosen freedom” and “consistently strong support from the international democratic community for the vibrant civil societies they helped develop and grow.”

The latter, she said, means “the United States speaking and acting with legitimate moral authority, assertively and convincingly.” That doesn’t mean “that America should do the job for citizens who choose freedom over authoritarian rule,” the CSO head said. “The key point is that in places where pro-democracy movements are strong and America’s well-established partnerships are challenged by actors like Russia, as in Georgia, maintaining a high level of support in backing democratic aspirations of nations – can tip the balance.”

According to Gigauri, the defeat of Georgian democracy and the country’s fall back into the Russian orbit would mean “evaporation of the chances for further democratic development of any country Eastwards and Southwards from Georgia” and “Russia once again marking its backyard, claiming Georgia as part of its sphere of influence.”

Gigauri said that Georgians were “determined to stand our ground” in what she described as a “generational and existential struggle,” and went on to express appreciation for the support Georgians receive from American and European allies. Such support, she said, includes “delivering clear messages to autocrats, reassuring pro-democracy actors, sanctioning those who undermine democracy, and initiating the MEGOBARI Act and Georgian People’s Act.”

“Georgians understand that freedom is never granted but always earned, as it has been throughout our history. With the support of America and its allies, we once built an emerging democracy that has been an inspiration in our part of the world, and I believe that, with your help, we will prevail once again,” Gigauri concluded.

Questions

Before moving to questions, Senator Cardin invited the witnesses to “always share information” over individuals or sectors where they believe “we can be more aggressive” in using sanction regime. “We take that information very seriously,” the Senator noted.

Russian Interference in Georgia

On Senator Cardin’s question over Russia’s possible encouragement of undemocratic activities in Georgia, Eka Gigauri recalled Moscow praising the Georgian government for initiating the foreign agents law. She also cited the recent action by Meta to delete “60 fake accounts” managed from Russian territory, which attacked Georgian protesters against the foreign agents’ law while promoting the government decisions.

Senator Risch asked why Georgia would be drifting back to Russia from which it suffered repression, to which Gigauri cited “official numbers” showing that the majority of Georgians still support Euro-Atlantic integration. But she also noted the government disinformation about the NGOs and the West aimed to make people question the West. “But, again, this is a not big number of people,” she said. Senator Risch then commented:  “If what you say is true about the Georgian people and what they want… they’re going to get an opportunity in October to throw the rascals out and take a hold of their own future and we’ll be watching closely praying for you and hope it works.”

Effects of Foreign Agents Law

Senator Jeanne Shaheen asked the Director of TI Georgia to update Senators about the current situation after the foreign agents law took effect in Georgia. Gigauri said that the majority of Georgian CSOs didn’t register as foreign agents, noting that “we don’t use [registration], as it happened in many other countries, like the badge of honor,” and that they [CSOs] think they are “not the agents or spies” but rather “patriots of our country.” According to Gigauri, the government now has several weeks to start monitoring, adding that organizations expect “heavy fines” but are “ready to resist.” The watchdog head said various organizations have different backup plans, including uniting their resources and creating a “huge coalition of NGOs” to monitor the October elections.

What More Can Be Done

Senator Chris Coons asked Eka Gigauri what more can be done to “make sure that there is a broader global push to fight corruption and to promote democracy” while the acts of open aggression in the region and the failure to defend democracy and elections “in our own country or in other countries” send “a chilling signal that strongmen and authoritarian regimes are on the march.” Gigauri said in response that “the short answer for our part of the world is to make Russia small and weak,” noting that “it is very difficult for a country to build democracy if you are neighboring Russia.” 

Gigauri went on to suggest that the whole international community should help Ukraine win the war, which she said will impact Georgia as well. She said that another thing that needs to be done is “of course sanctions,” but asked to impose individually targeted sanctions and spare the Georgian people who “fought for democracy and they proved that they are very effective in that.” One more thing to do, according to Gigauri, is to have an early warning system. “It is very important to cooperate and to listen to different pro-democratic groups on the ground, to know where the situation is going,” she said, “because sometimes reactions on time might bring bigger results.”

Concluding Remarks

“We will not tolerate the type of action we’ve seen in Georgia, we’ve made that pretty clear,” Senator Cardin, Committee Chairman, said in his concluding remarks. “I think they understand that and we’re going to make it even clearer when we pass legislation,” he said, referring to the legislation co-authored by Senator Risch and Senator Shaheen [Georgian People’s Act].

Also Read:

• 06/04/2024 – US Helsinki Commission: “Foreign Agent” Legislation – Self-Sabotage of Georgia’s EU Candidacy
• 27/04/2024 – U.S. Senators’ Letter to PM Kobakhidze Warning of Possible U.S. Policy Shift over Agents’ Law
• 05/06/2024 – U.S. Congressional Hearing Discusses Support for Georgia’s Sovereignty and Democracy
• 11/07/2024 – U.S. MEGOBARI Act Passes Committee, Poised for House Vote

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