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Human rights in Georgia are guaranteed by the country's constitution. There is an independent human rights Public Defender of Georgia elected by the parliament to ensure such rights are enforced. [1] However, it has been alleged by Amnesty International, [2] Human Rights Watch,[ citation needed ] the United States Department of State [3] and the Georgian opposition [4] that these rights are often breached.
In addition around 20% of the territory of what was the Georgian SSR is in dispute (occupied in the view of the government in Tbilisi and many other countries) and there have been frequent allegations of human rights abuses in these territories as well.
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, Vasili 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 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 (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. [5]
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, the riot police attacked the headquarters of Imedi channel, leading it to off the airing of demonstrations. [6]
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." [7] Many other organizations have warned the Saakasvili government, including the United States Department of State in 2008. [8]
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. [9]
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." [9]
The questions from human rights organizations worldwide come on the heels of international concerns about free and fair elections in Georgia in 2012. [10]
On January 13, 2013 190 people designated political prisoners by the Parliament of Georgia were released from prison under an amnesty law sponsored by Georgian Dream legislators which passed in 2012 over the veto of out-going President Mikheil Saakashvili. [11]
During Pride Month of 2021, Georgian LGBTQ activists called off a scheduled Pride March after anti-LGBT protestors stormed the Tbilisi Pride headquarters and attacked approximately 50 journalists. [12] The anti-LGBT protestors accused the journalists of going against traditional Georgian values. [13] 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. [12]
Following a day of outrage over violence, thousands gathered to protest homophobia in front of the Georgian Parliament, where they unfurled the Rainbow Flag as participants cheered and sang the Georgian national anthem. [14] [15]
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. [16] 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..." [17]
The following chart shows Georgia's ratings since 1991 in the Freedom in the World reports, published annually by Freedom House. A rating of 1 is "free"; 7, "not free". [18] 1
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Freedom of religions in Georgia is provided for by the country's constitution, laws, and policies. In practice, the Georgian government generally respects religious freedom; however, the Georgian Orthodox Church enjoys a privileged status in terms of legal and tax matters, involvement in public schools, and property disputes. There have been efforts by private citizens, local government officials, and local Georgian Orthodox Church leaders to harass and persecute members of minority religious groups and interfere with their worship activities; despite calls for tolerance and respect for pluralism by government leaders, the Georgian central government has not been successful in preventing such incidents.
Mikheil Saakashvili 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. From May 2015 until November 2016, Saakashvili was the governor of Ukraine's Odesa Oblast. He is the founder and former chairman of the United National Movement party. Saakashvili heads the executive committee of Ukraine's National Reform Council since 7 May 2020. In 2021 he began serving a six-year prison sentence in Georgia on charges of abuse of power and organization of an assault occasioning grievous bodily harm against an opposition lawmaker Valery Gelashvili.
United National Movement is a liberal and pro-Western political party in Georgia founded by Mikheil Saakashvili, which rose to power following the Rose Revolution. Since the 2012 parliamentary election, it has been the main opposition party.
Russia has consistently been criticized by international organizations and independent domestic media outlets for human rights violations. Some of the most commonly cited violations include deaths in custody, the systemic and widespread use of torture by security forces and prison guards, the existence of hazing rituals within the Russian Army —referred to as dedovshchina — as well as prevalent breaches of children's rights, instances of violence and prejudice against ethnic minorities, and the targeted killings of journalists.
Human rights in Tajikistan, a country in Central Asia, have become an issue of international concern. The access to basic human rights remains limited, with corruption in the government and the systematic abuse of the human rights of its citizens slowing down the progress of democratic and social reform in the country.
Human rights in the Middle East have been shaped by the legal and political development of international human rights law after the Second World War, and their application to the Middle East. The 2004 United Nations Arab Human Development Report (AHDR) claimed that although Arab-Islamic tradition does hold unique importance for ideas of human welfare, History has proven that "they were not sufficiently prevalent in society to foster a culture based on a political contract, and allow for the legitimacy of differences of opinion, dialogue and transfer of power." Issues of the validity of democracy in the region and human rights are at the very centre of the challenges facing Middle Eastern society today.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Georgia face significant challenges that non-LGBT people do not experience. Georgia is one of only a few countries in the former Soviet space that directly prohibits discrimination against all LGBT people in legislation, labor-related or otherwise. Since 2012, Georgian law has considered crimes committed on the grounds of one's sexual orientation or gender identity an aggravating factor in prosecution. The legislative ban on discrimination has been enacted as a part of the Government efforts to bring the country closer to the European Union and make the country's human rights record in line with the demands of Georgia's European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Ethiopia face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are illegal in the country, with reports of high levels of discrimination and abuses against LGBT people.
Concerns about human rights in Chile include discrimination against indigenous populations; societal violence and discrimination against women, children, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people; child labor; and harsh prison conditions and treatment. Additional human rights concerns in the country include use of excessive force and abuse by security forces, isolated reports of government corruption, and anti-Semitism. Authorities generally maintain effective control over the security forces. However, security forces occasionally commit human rights abuses. The government generally takes steps to prosecute officials who commit abuses. Nevertheless, many human rights organizations contend that security officials accused of committing abuses have impunity.
Bachana "Bacho" Akhalaia is a Georgian politician who was Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia from July 4, 2012, to September 20, 2012. He had previously served as Head of Penitentiary Department of Ministry of Justice of Georgia (2005–2008) and Minister of Defense.
The issue of human rights in Tunisia, is complex, contradictory, and, in some regards, confusing in the wake of the Tunisian revolution that began in January 2011 and overthrew the longstanding dictatorship of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. While the immediate months after the revolution were characterized by significant improvements in the status of human rights, some of those advances have since been reversed. The situation remains in a state of flux, with different observers providing virtually irreconcilable accounts of the current status of human rights in that country.
Togo in West Africa is currently rated as "Partly Free" by Freedom House.
The Gldani prison scandal was a political scandal in the country of Georgia involving the recorded abuse of inmates in the Georgian prison system. On September 18, 2012, several videos were released showing prison guards and their superiors torturing, taunting, and sexually assaulting detainees in Gldani No. 8 Prison. The video footage, which confirmed long-standing allegations of ill-treatment of prisoners, was released two weeks before the October 1 parliamentary elections.
Irakli Garibashvili is a Georgian politician and a former business executive who has served as the prime minister of Georgia since 22 February 2021. He previously served as prime minister from 20 November 2013 until his resignation on 30 December 2015. Garibashvili is a member of the Georgian Dream party. He entered politics with his long-time associate Bidzina Ivanishvili, in October 2012.
In 2013, Georgia finalized its first-ever peaceful change of power and transition to a parliamentary republic. The Georgian Dream-dominated government, which came to power after defeating, in October 2012, the United National Movement led by the outgoing President Mikheil Saakashvili, promised more democratic reforms. The Georgian Dream candidate Giorgi Margvelashvili won the presidential election in October 2013 and the new constitution significantly reducing the authority of the president in favor of those of the prime minister and government came into effect. In November, the leader of the Georgian Dream, Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili announced his withdrawal from politics as promised earlier, and the Parliament of Georgia approved his nominee, Irakli Garibashvili, as the country's new head of government.
A rally against homophobia was held in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 17, 2013, the International Day Against Homophobia. Gay rights activists holding the rally were met by thousands of protestors opposing homosexuality, who broke through a police cordon and violently pursued them, beating and throwing stones at them.
Secularism in Georgia was most popular in the 20th century when the country was part of the Soviet Union. In the 21st century, secular and non-religious currents have seen a precipitous decline due to the rising number of people practicing the Georgian Orthodox Church. Article 9 of the current Constitution of Georgia provides for complete freedom of belief and religion. It also recognizes the "special role ... in the history of Georgia" of the Georgian Orthodox Church, but stipulates that the GOC shall be independent of the state. A special Concordat between the Georgian state and the GOC was ratified in 2002, giving the GOC a special legal status and rights not given to other religious groups—including legal immunity for the Georgian Orthodox Patriarch, exemption from military service for GOC clergy, and a consultative role in education and other aspects of the government.
Human rights in Lithuania have been the subject of much coverage. Lithuania scores 91 out of 100 in 2019 report by Freedom House, which classifies the country as "free", with high rankings in civil liberties and political rights. In particular, Lithuania ranks 30th among 180 countries, well above the world's average level in press freedom, and achieves a full score in freedom of assembly and nongovernmental organisations. However, there are concerns regarding children's welfare, domestic violence, discrimination against minorities including the Roma, Jews and LGBTI people, as well as inhumane treatments of prisoners. The Constitution of Lithuania guarantees the protection of human rights.
Individuals and events related to Georgia in 2021.
The 2021 attack on Tbilisi Pride was a violent counter-demonstration by far-right protesters against an attempt to hold a pride parade by pro-LGBT organizers of the NGO Tbilisi Pride in Tbilisi, Georgia. Anti-LGBT protesters frustrated attempts to hold a parade, attacked dozens of journalists who were covering the events and NGO offices, which resulted in the canceling of the Pride demonstration after four location changes from the initial procession at Rustaveli Avenue.