MEGOBARI Act Reportedly to Gain Momentum in U.S. Senate Next Week
The U.S. Senate is set to consider the MEGOBARI Act, a bipartisan bill that envisages sanctions against the GD government officials for human rights abuses and undermining democracy. The Senate Foreign Affairs Committee is expected to take up the legislation “early next week”, according to congressional sources cited by Washington, DC-based correspondent Alex Raufoglu.
“In the meantime, the House version of the MEGOBARI ACT, introduced by Joe Wilson and Congressman Steve Cohen early this year, is gaining more support each day,” Raufoglu wrote on social media.
He also added that the bill continues to gain traction, with 18 co-sponsors backing the legislation as of this week.
The bill was first introduced on May 23 last year in the United States House of Representatives. On January 4 this year, Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Congressmen and back-then chairs of the Helsinki Commission reintroduced the bill. This bill is separate from the Georgia People’s Act (GPA), which a bipartisan group tabled in the U.S. Senate. A source at the U.S. House of Representatives earlier told Civil.ge that the two bills might be reconciled at a later stage of consideration.
The MEGOBARI Act outlines sanctions against Georgian authorities for massive human rights abuses and democratic backsliding. It also mandates U.S. government agencies to report to Congress on Russian intelligence assets and sanctions evasion activities in Georgia.
The legislation highlights the GD government’s “increasingly hostile” stance toward Western partners and civil society, coupled with a policy of accommodation toward Moscow. The act envisages U.S. support for Georgia’s democratic development through democracy monitoring that will “promote the pre-election democratic environment in Georgia,” security assistance, and potential economic incentives tied to democratic progress.
The advancement of the bill comes as Georgia’s relations with the United States and the European Union remain at an all-time low. The ruling Georgian Dream party continues to sit alone in a rump parliament, with its honorary chairman, Bidzina Ivanishvili, sanctioned by the U.S. administration for undermining democracy and acting for the benefit of Moscow.
The Georgian Dream government suspended the EU accession process in late November, 2024, and forcefully dispersed pro-EU protests. GD officials, including Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri and Deputy Head of the Special Tasks Department Mirza Kezevadze, were sanctioned for their roles in violent crackdowns of the protests, and utilizing “tactics including mass beatings, verbal abuse, and threats of sexual violence” against journalists, protesters and opposition politicians.
Also Read:
- 17/12/2024 – Senator Cardin Calls for U.S. Magnitsky Sanctions on GD Over Brutal Crackdown on Protesters
- 05/12/2024 – U.S. Secretary of State Condemns Georgian Dream’s Violence, Promises Additional Sanctions
- 02/12/2024 – Senators Shaheen, Risch Express Concern Over Violence in Georgia, Call on U.S. Sanctions Against GD Gov’t
- 16/09/2024 – BREAKING: U.S. Imposes New Sanctions for Undermining Democracy
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