Over 35 CoE Countries Say the Authorities are Failing on their Commitments
On December 11, 35 Council of Europe (CoE) member states made a statement at the CoE Committee of Ministers condemning the police violence and saying, “We stand with the Georgian people in support of the and their choice for a European future.” In a related development, 31 countries spoke up as a CoE Group of Friends for the Safety of Journalism and Media Freedom demanded the Georgian authorities “put an end” to “repression” against peaceful demonstrators and journalists.
Statement at the Committee of Ministers
At the CoE Committee of Ministers, 35 countries said Irakli Kobakhidze’s statement not to pursue the opening of EU accession negotiations and to reject EU financial assistance until 2028 “appears to be in violation of the Georgian Constitution.” The statement does not refer to Irakli Kobakhidze as “Prime Minister.”
The signatories “strongly condemn the violence against peaceful demonstrators who are standing firm for their European and democratic future” and note with “grave concern” violence and intimidation against activists, media, and the opposition.
“We urge the Georgian authorities to cease the violence and intimidation immediately and guarantee the rights to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression for the people in Georgia. All those responsible for the violence must be held accountable,” reads the statement. Referring to “the continuous democratic backsliding of the Georgian government to the detriment of the Georgian people,” and urged the authorities to “reverse the current course of action” and “respect freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of expression and media freedom.” The statement also says, “Laws adopted in contradiction with Georgia’s international commitments must be repealed.”
Group of Friends
31 countries aligning themselves with the Group of Friends on media freedom list the instances of violence and detentions, including against journalists, are “developments contrary to the values promoted by the Council of Europe. They infringe on the fundamental rights the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) guarantees to people living in Georgia.” They recall that “the Georgian authorities have the legal obligation to respect these rights at all times.”
The Group of Friends also notes that these developments “fuel a drift towards control over civil society organizations and free and independent media,” which has been seen in recent years through decisions such as the adoption of the Foreign Agents Law. The countries call on the Georgian authorities to repeal the law and “put an end to the excessive use of force against peaceful demonstrators, including journalists covering the protests, and to fully respect their commitments to media freedom and the safety of journalists, as well as the right of peaceful assembly.”
“Journalists and other media workers must be able to freely do their work of informing the public without fear of intimidation or use of violence against them,” concludes the statement.
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