Speaker urges respect for OSCE/ODIHR report, affirms Georgia’s elected gov’t

Twenty-four participating states of the Organization for Security and Co‑operation in Europe (OSCE) have issued a joint statement calling on Georgia to fully implement the recommendations contained in the OSCE report prepared under the Moscow Mechanism.The joint statement was released by the government of the United Kingdom.“We thank Professor Patrycja Grzebyk, Sole Rapporteur under the Moscow Mechanism, for her rigorous, independent and professional work, and for the comprehensive report presented to participating States today. The report provides a detailed and credible assessment of developments in Georgia since spring 2024 and offers clear recommendations addressed to the Georgian authorities, to participating States, and to the wider international community.At the same time, we welcome the decision of the Georgian authorities to facilitate a country visit by the Rapporteur and to organise high-level meetings with government institutions. We encourage the Georgian authorities to continue this engagement and to view the Rapporteur’s findings as a basis for constructive dialogue and reform.We also wish to express our deep appreciation to members of Georgian civil society, journalists, human rights defenders and other interlocutors who engaged with the Rapporteur. Their willingness to provide testimony and documentation was essential to the integrity and depth of this report. Their contribution underscores the vital role of civil society in any democratic society and the importance of ensuring an environment in which they can operate freely and safely.Mr Chair,The Rapporteur’s central finding is unambiguous. As the report states: “In the period covered by the mandate, a marked democratic backsliding has taken place in Georgia.” The report identifies a pattern of violence and other abuses against protesters, political opponents and journalists, combined with what the Rapporteur describes as “almost complete impunity of perpetrators.” It further finds that, in some cases, the treatment of detainees “has arguably reached the threshold of torture” and that investigations into allegations of ill-treatment have been ineffective.Of particular concern is the conclusion that legislative changes have systematically restricted human rights and fundamental freedoms. The report finds that laws targeting so‑called “foreign influence”, alongside amendments affecting the media, assemblies, and political participation, have unduly limited freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, and have had a chilling effect on civil society and independent media.The Rapporteur further warns that: “The ongoing attempt to ban the main opposition parties threatens the existence of political pluralism.” Taken together, these developments undermine human rights and fundamental freedoms and the rule of law to which Georgia has committed as an OSCE participating State.The Rapporteur notes that she assessed these developments while taking account of Georgia’s broader security context, which includes the ongoing Russian military presence in Georgia’s occupied breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.Mr Chair,We urge Georgia to address democratic backsliding and implement in full the Moscow Mechanism recommendations. Today, we wish to highlight the following steps in particular:First, the Georgian authorities should ensure that law enforcement acts in line with international standards, and conduct prompt, independent and impartial investigations into all allegations of torture and ill‑treatment, holding those responsible to account.Second, Georgia should repeal or fundamentally revise legislation that is incompatible with its international human rights obligations and commitments, including laws on transparency of foreign influence, foreign agents registration, and related amendments affecting grants, broadcasting and political participation. As the Rapporteur notes, these laws are not capable of being brought into compliance through minor amendments alone. In doing so, we encourage the Georgian authorities to reestablish their cooperation with ODIHR and the Venice Commission and implement their recommendations in full.Third, the authorities should refrain from arbitrary detention and prosecution of political opponents, journalists and other participants of public debate, withdraw arbitrarily brought charges, and release all persons detained for political reasons.Fourth, Georgia should halt efforts to ban opposition parties, withdraw pending applications in this regard, and ensure that political pluralism is fully respected.Finally, the report underscores the need to restore trust in the judiciary by strengthening judicial independence, ensuring fair trial guarantees, and reforming institutions such as the High Council of Justice in line with long‑standing OSCE and Venice Commission recommendations.Mr Chair,The Moscow Mechanism exists to support participating States in upholding their shared commitments in the human dimension. We, as invoking States, stand ready to support meaningful follow‑up, including through continued discussion in the Permanent Council and engagement with Georgian authorities and civil society as well as by seriously considering the Report’s recommendations to the OSCE Participating States and to the International Community,” the statement reads.The signatories are: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom and Poland.

The Minister of Finance, Lasha Khutsishvili, the Head of the Revenue Service, Irakli (Dachi) Beraia, and the Head of the Customs Department, Mikheil Chokoshvili, held a meeting with the members of the Interagency Unit for Passenger and Container Control, where they presented the customs officers with certificates of appreciation for the conscientious performance of their duties.During the meeting, the leaders emphasized the importance of the joint activities of the interagency unit and noted that each customs officer makes a special contribution to the protection of the country's economic border and the effective control of the movement of prohibited/restricted goods.The meeting held at the Ministry of Finance was attended by the First Deputy Head of the Customs Department, Otar Rikadze, as well as deputies Merab Arakhamia, Irakli Tevdoradze, Davit Mdinaradze and Kiazo Akhalaia.

Six Georgian companies are taking part in the international exhibition Foodex Japan 2026 in Tokyo, with the support of the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture of Georgia and organized by the Rural Development Agency.The Georgian pavilion was visited by Yuhei Yamashita, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan. The Deputy Minister was hosted by Zurab Gozalishvili, Director of the Rural Development Agency, and Teimuraz Lezhava, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to Japan.Zurab Gozalishvili noted that the participation of Georgian companies in international exhibitions is a key tool for expanding exports and developing new markets, and that the agency continues to develop financing mechanisms to strengthen the competitiveness of Georgian agricultural products.Foodex Japan 2026 is one of the largest international trade events in Asia, with participation from about 3,000 companies across more than 70 countries.

The delegation members held a meeting with five Congressmen who represent the Foreign Relations Committee to review Georgia-U.S. relations, security issues, ongoing developments in the region and the Middle Corridor development.“The conversation during meetings focused on Georgian-American relations, the improvement of these relations and their transition to a new stage. We discussed a wide range of issues, mainly security issues, current events in our region, and the occupation. From U.S. Congressmen, we received the information about ongoing events in Iran and their assessment of the current situation,” said Chair of the Georgian parliamentary delegation, Nikoloz Samkharadze.According to Samkharadze, the Congressmen were interested in Georgia’s role in the Middle Corridor project.“We engaged in a very interesting dialogue. We asked the congressmen to carefully study the legislative initiatives presented by some congressmen, which are clearly anti-Georgian in nature, not to harm the positive dynamics that have recently emerged in our relations,” he said.The delegation members met Congressmen Randy Fine, Mike Turner, Ryan Zinke and Anna Paulina Luna within the framework of their visit to the U.S.

Your Excellency, as a representative of the Georgian people and the state of Georgia, I would like to express my gratitude for visiting the embassy today and writing in the condolence book. A friend in need is a friend indeed. We extend our condolences to the people of Iran and the Islamic Republic of Iran, where the ongoing military actions have claimed the lives of many individuals, including the Supreme Spiritual Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, other political leaders, numerous innocent civilians, and dozens of children. We hope that peace will soon be restored and that military actions will give way to diplomacy and political dialogue.” This was written by the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Georgia, Seyed Ali Mojani, on the social network Facebook.