Human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

are guaranteed by the country's constitution. There is an independent human rights

Public Defender of Georgia The Public Defender of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სახალხო დამცველი, tr), an ombudsman, is an institution that oversees the observance of human rights and freedoms in Georgia. It advises the governme ...

elected by the parliament to ensure such rights are enforced. However, it has been alleged by

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

, the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

and the Georgian opposition that these rights are often breached. In addition, around 20% of the territory of what was the

Georgian SSR The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

is in dispute (seen as occupied in the view of the Georgian government in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

, and by many other countries); there have been frequent allegations of human rights abuses in these territories of

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

and

South Ossetia South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...

as well.

Rights of minorities

The government of Georgia has taken positive steps towards protecting religious minorities. Attacks against those of different faiths have subsided since the revolution, and a leader of these attacks, Basil Mkalavishvili, was arrested and incarcerated by the authorities. Prime Minister Zurab Jvania was a key supporter of allowing religious organisations recognition from the state, but he faced considerable opposition from his own government: his own president said that the state should do what it can to 'protect Georgia from harmful alien influence.' Despite reforms allowing minority churches to register themselves in 2005, the

Georgian Orthodox church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonl ...

has a considerable monopoly in Georgia, whilst minority groups find it hard to even build places of worship. The 2002 concordat between the G.O.C. and the Georgian government is in place, which grants the Georgian Orthodox Church a privileged status in Georgia, and endows it with authority over all religious matters. It is the only church that has tax-free status, and it is often consulted in government matters. Together with being free of tax, Georgian Orthodox Church also gets some financing from the government as well. The main reason for this is that the church has always been very active in country's cultural development and just like in most Eastern Orthodox countries, the line between culture and religion is blurred. Georgia has ratified the

Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) is a multilateral treaty of the Council of Europe aimed at protecting the minority rights, rights of minorities. It came into effect in 1998 and by 2009 it had been ratif ...

(FCNM) in 2005. The NGO "Tolerance" points out in 2008 that several of the articles of the FCPNM have been exempted from full implementation by the Georgian parliament. Specifically, provisions regarding full expression in the minority's languages in cultural, educational and administrative matters have been compromised, Tolerance claims. For example, the number of Azerbaijani schools has decreased, and cases of appointing headmasters to Azerbaijani schools who do not speak Azerbaijani are cited. A national strategy for human rights protection was adopted in March 2023.

Freedom of expression and of the media

Freedom of speech, expression, and media is generally a given in Georgia but alas there are times where it is not especially during the

2007 Georgian demonstrations In 2007, a series of anti-government protests took place across Georgia. The demonstrations peaked on 2 November 2007, when 40,000–50,000 people rallied in downtown Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. People protested against the allegedly corrup ...

, the riot police attacked the headquarters of

Imedi Imedi Media Holding ( ka, იმედი მედია ჰოლდინგი) is a private television and radio company in Georgia. The stations were founded by the Georgian media tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili. The station mainly concentrate ...

channel, leading it to off the airing of demonstrations. In 2023, the country improved its position in the World Press Freedom Index from Number 89 to Number 77.

Prisoner abuse

For years, human rights organizations urged President Saakashvili and his government to look into alleged atrocities in Georgian prisons. In 2010 the Human Rights Commission of the Council of Europe reported “The living conditions in prisons and prison camps of Georgia – also known under their euphemistic name as "correctional facilities" - are not conducive of improved outcomes for inmates. Quite the contrary: The system amounts to an offence against international standards for correctional facilities. Requests for help in order to stop torture in their prisons are common. As prisoners are afraid of aggravating the situation, they avoid naming individual torturers. As of 2010, the availability of medical care in prisons and camps was totally inadequate leading to a very high mortality in Georgian prisons. The human rights of the inmates are simply being ignored." Many other organizations have warned the Saakashvili government, including the United States Department of State in 2008. Despite the worldwide warnings to the Saakashvili government, the United National Movement Party regarding human rights in Georgian prisons, watchdog organizations reported little or no improvement. The European Union strongly condemned the abuse of prisoners and urged the Georgian authorities to punish the culprits. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she was "appalled by the shocking footage of abuses committed against inmates in Gldani prison. It is of vital importance that these and other incidents are thoroughly and transparently investigated and that those responsible are held to account," she said in a statement. Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the United Nations human rights office in Geneva, urged Georgia to "promptly, impartially and effectively" investigate all cases of abuse and take steps "to ensure that prisons and detention centers are managed in line with international human rights law and standards." The questions from human rights organizations worldwide come on the heels of international concerns about free and fair elections in Georgia in 2012.

2013 release of political prisoners

On January 13, 2013 190 people designated political prisoners by the

Parliament of Georgia The Parliament of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პარლამენტი, tr) is the supreme national legislature of Georgia. It is a unicameral parliament, currently consisting of 150 members elected through fully pr ...

were released from prison under an amnesty law sponsored by

Georgian Dream Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia (GD), also colloquially known as the Kotsebi, is a Conservatism, conservative and populism, populist List of political parties in Georgia (country), political party in Georgia (country), Georgia, which has ...

legislators which passed in 2012 over the

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

of out-going President

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil "Misha" Saakashvili (born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. He is the founder and former chair ...

Anti-LGBT riots and counter protests

During

Pride Month Pride Month, sometimes specified as LGBTQ Pride Month, is a List of month-long observances, month-long observance dedicated to the celebration of LGBTQ pride, commemorating the contributions of lesbian, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender a ...

of 2021, Georgian

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

activists called off a scheduled

Pride March A pride parade (also known as pride event, pride festival, pride march, or pride protest) is an event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, legal rights, and pride. The eve ...

after anti-LGBT protestors stormed the Tbilisi Pride headquarters and attacked approximately 50 journalists. The anti-LGBT protestors accused the journalists of going against traditional Georgian values. Tbilisi Pride accused the government and church of emboldening a "huge wave of hate" against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and failing to protect citizens' rights. Following a day of outrage over violence, thousands gathered to protest homophobia in front of the Georgian Parliament, where they unfurled the

Rainbow Flag A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the seven spectral colors of the visible light spectrum. History In the 18th century, American Revolutionary ...

as participants cheered and sang the Georgian national anthem. In total, the Georgian government arrested 102 people in relation to the anti-LGBT riots; 68 of these were subsequently released on bail and the rest were left in custody pending trial. On 9 July 2021, Tbilisi City Court denied bail and ordered pre-trial detention of 4 additional members of the violent group. During a preliminary hearing, the judge determined that the actions of these anti-LGBT activists "in addition to being criminal, undermine the stability of the state. They are dark and shameful..."

Georgia proposed bill to remove all LGBT protections

A bill proposed in 2024 seeks to remove all protections on LGBT people, outlawing "alternative marriage unions," make being transgender illegal, removing all transgender recognition on identity documents, and banning all LGBT public displays. The bill was passed by the Georgian Parliament on September 4. The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, and various human rights organizations have condemned the ruling.

Historical situation

The following chart shows Georgia's ratings since 1991 in the

Freedom in the World ''Freedom in the World'' is a yearly survey and report by the U.S.-based non-governmental organization Freedom House that measures the degree of civil liberties and political rights in every nation and significant related and disputed territ ...

reports, published annually by

Freedom House Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, Freedom (political), political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, wi ...

. A rating of 1 is "free"; 7, "not free".

Notes

:1.Note that the "Year" signifies the "Year covered". Therefore the information for the year marked 2008 is from the report published in 2009, and so on. :2.As of January 1.

References

External links

UN OHCHR page on GeorgiaHumanRights.ge
– daily updated online magazine and web portal on human rights in Georgia
Have the rights of religious minorities improved?
* ttp://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/18/georgi12229.htm HRW Human Rights overviewbr>Human Rights Watch, GeorgiaCensorship in Georgia
-

IFEX Ifosfamide, sold under the brand name Ifex among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes testicular cancer, soft tissue sarcoma, osteosarcoma, bladder cancer, small cell lung cancer, cervic ...

IDP Voices
- Read and listen to life stories from displaced people in Georgia. * Chkheidze, Ketevan: "Gender Politics in Georgia" in th
Caucasus Analytical Digest No.21
{{DEFAULTSORT:Human Rights In Georgia