HRW Warns GD’s Proposed FARA Could Severely Harm Civil Society
On March 26, Human Rights Watch released a scathing critique of a proposed law modeled after the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), urging the GD parliament to reject the bill that would criminalize civil society groups and nonprofit organizations refusing to register as “foreign agents,” and warning that the legislation violates universal human rights norms and threatens to dismantle independent civil society in Georgia.
Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch states that the proposed law, which is set for a final vote the week of March 31 is a severe threat to civic freedoms that would give civil society and independent groups “the false choice of accepting the unfounded and stigmatizing label of a foreign agent, facing prison or exile, or abandoning their work altogether.”
“It could spell the end of Georgia’s independent civil society,” Williamson warned.
HRW emphasized that despite claims by the ruling GD party, the bill diverges from the actual U.S. FARA legislation. It said that U.S. Justice Department regulations specifically aim to monitor direct foreign power influence on domestic politics, focusing narrowly on cases where foreign-funded individuals “operate entirely under the directives of and coordination of their principals.” In contrast, the Georgian bill’s “overbroad definition of influence” would allow for widespread abuse against independent groups, the watchdog argued.
“The Georgian Dream leadership has made many statements to indicate that the authorities intend to use the law to shutter civil society, emboldened by the Trump administration’s harsh criticism and suspension of US foreign assistance,” the statement read.
Alongside the Foreign Agents bill, Human Rights Watch criticized proposed amendments to the Broadcasting law, restrictive amendments to Administrative and Criminal Codes, and the new regulation of GD parliament that authorized police to “preventively detain a person for 48 hours” if the police deem that they could commit another misdemeanor.
Williamson further argued that to avoid further deepening the human rights crisis in Georgia, the GD authorities should “indicate that they retain some respect for human rights and rule of law by scrapping the foreign agents bill.”
On March 24, over 100 Georgian civil society organizations condemned the bill as a “repackaged Russian law,” arguing that it fundamentally differs from the U.S. FARA. They emphasized that the proposed law targets independent media and CSOs, describing it as unconstitutional and aimed at suppressing freedom of expression.
Also Read:
- 11/12/2024 – HRW Representatives Urge EU to Sanction Georgian Officials, Calls for Independent Investigation
- 21/08/2024 – HRW Criticizes Georgian Government Over Failure to Investigate Attacks on Critics
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