Georgia took significant steps backward on human rights in 2024, with several new repressive laws undermining freedom of expression and of association. In November, the ruling party suspended efforts to open EU accession negotiations until late 2028, prompting mass, countrywide protests.
In June, Georgia’s parliament adopted a law obliging certain nongovernmental groups and media outlets to register as “organizations serving the interests of a foreign power.” The ruling party claimed the law aims to promote transparency but other official rhetoric, the timing of its introduction, and its substantive provisions suggest it aims to discredit and marginalize independent groups and media. In September, under the guise of “protecting family values and children,” the authorities adopted a discriminatory anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) law imposing restrictions on rights to education, health, freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly.
In October, the ruling party claimed decisive victory in a highly disputed parliamentary election, which opposition parties, President Salome Zurabishvili, and independent observer groups claimed was marred by intimidation, vote-buying, and fraud.
Police repeatedly used excessive force against largely peaceful demonstrators protesting the government’s decision to abort the EU accession negotiations. They groundlessly fired tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets at protesters. Police beat, chased down, and detained largely peaceful protesters. Violent mobs, presumably associated with authorities, participated in beatings. Several hundred protesters were arrested on misdemeanor and criminal charges. Many reported beatings and ill-treatment in detention; dozens required hospitalization.
Parliamentary Election
The Georgian Dream party retained power with nearly 54 percent of the vote, while the united opposition garnered 38 percent. President Zurabishvli and opposition parties rejected the results amid widespread reports of ballot stuffing, vote buying, and intimidation. International observers found that the polls offered a “wide choice” of candidates, but flagged concerns about the impact of recently adopted laws “on fundamental freedoms and civil society,” widespread reports of pressure on public sector employees and other voters, and compromised vote secrecy in 24 percent of polling stations they visited. Georgian groups alleged that the ruling party resorted to a complex rigging scheme.
For the first time, parliament was fully elected through proportional party votes, rather than a mix of individual and party-based mandates, with voters using electronically scanned paper ballots in most precincts. Georgian Young Lawyers Association, a local watchdog group, filed complaints to annul the results in all precincts that used scanned ballots, claiming breach of vote secrecy because the selections were visible on ballot papers as voters fed them into scanners. Higher courts rejected all election-related complaints.
Georgia’s international partners called for impartial investigations into alleged violations.
Freedom of Expression and Assembly
In June, parliament adopted a law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” put forward by the Georgia Dream party. A type of “foreign agent” law, it requires nongovernmental groups and media receiving 20 percent or more of their funding from abroad to register as “organizations serving the interests of a foreign power.” It imposes onerous, intrusive, and duplicative reporting requirements, and allows the authorities to demand sensitive personal data from organizations and individuals. Non-compliance is punishable by maximum fines of 25,000 GEL (US$9,300).
In May, the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters, concluded that the rights restrictions that the law imposes fail to meet the “requirements of legality, legitimacy, and necessity in a democratic society” and violate the principles of proportionality and nondiscrimination.
Experts with the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) urged the authorities to scrap the law, as did Georgia’s bilateral and multilateral partners.
Many NGOs and media refused to voluntarily register. Together with Georgia’s president and opposition MPs, they challenged the law in the Constitutional Court, requesting its suspension pending the court’s final decision. The court accepted the complaint on the merits.
In June, the United States imposed visa restrictions on dozens of Georgian nationals for their role in “undermining democracy in Georgia.” The 27 EU heads of state and government stated that the law’s adoption in effect halted Georgia’s EU accession process.
Violence against Activists
In the weeks before the “foreign agent” law’s final adoption, civic and political activists became targets of an apparently coordinated campaign of harassment and intimidation. Hundreds of activists and their family members, including children, received repeated, anonymous threatening phone calls. Smear campaigns of posters in several cities featured the images of nongovernmental group leaders and critical journalists, calling them traitors and enemies.
From late April through June, unidentified assailants violently attacked over a dozen activists, leading, in many cases, to head and other injuries requiring hospitalization. Most attacks were committed by small groups of assailants in public places with witnesses and CCTV cameras nearby. While the police opened investigations, they have not identified or arrested any suspects at time of writing, raising concerns about the investigations.
In her September statement, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders observed that some attacks might have been incited by senior government officials’ statements. The EU called on “Georgian political actors to refrain from using language [that] could further fuel … extreme polarization.”
Law Enforcement Abuses and Impunity
Tens of thousands of people protested the “foreign agents” bill continuously following its introduction in April. On multiple occasions, during especially large demonstrations in front of the parliament building, police used tear gas, water cannons, and pepper spray to disperse mainly nonviolent protesters. There were credible reports of police using rubber bullets at least once on May 1. Police arrested hundreds on misdemeanor charges, and courts imposed fines on many after perfunctory trials. Over a dozen journalists and media representatives sustained injuries because of police use of force during the protests.
The Public Defender’s Office (PDO) visited 182 detainees following the protests, 93 of whom reported police misconduct. The PDO referred 73 of these cases to the Special Investigation Service (SIS), a body responsible for investigating law enforcement abuses.
From January to September 2024, the SIS opened investigations into 147 cases of alleged ill-treatment by law enforcement, and 11 investigations into alleged interference with journalistic work. The prosecutor’s office initiated three criminal investigations against law enforcement officers for alleged ill-treatment.
In September, the US imposed sanctions on two Interior Ministry officials for their involvement in “the violent response to peaceful protests,” and imposed visa restrictions on dozens of other individuals playing a “critical role in advancing undemocratic legislation and restricting civil society.”
Also in September, the European Court of Human Rights found that Georgian authorities violated the prohibition on torture and the right to liberty by failing to effectively investigate Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli’s alleged abduction, mistreatment, and illegal transfer to Azerbaijan in 2017.
Gender and Sexuality
In September, parliament adopted anti-LGBT amendments imposing discriminatory restrictions on rights to education, health, freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly. The amendments ban gender-affirming medical care for trans people, same-sex marriage, and adoption by same-sex couples. They also prohibit positive references to LGBT people in literature, film, and media, as well as in schools and at public gatherings.
In June, the Venice Commission urged the authorities not to adopt the amendments, warning that their mere introduction could deepen the already hostile and stigmatizing atmosphere against LGBT individuals in Georgia.
In 2024, the organizers of Tbilisi Pride refrained from holding in-person events during Pride Month, citing concerns over potential violence and hate rhetoric, compounded by introduction of the anti-LGBT legislation.
In April, the parliament abolished mandatory parliamentary and municipal council quotas for women. The quotas required that at least one in every four individuals on a political party list be of a different gender than the majority. The Venice Commission and OSCE criticized the move, calling on the authorities to increase women’s political representation.
Women’s political representation in Georgia remains well under the recommended European standard of 40 percent. Only 3 of Georgia’s 64 municipalities have female mayors, and women comprised less than 19 percent of MPs elected in 2020.
Children’s Rights
In its concluding observations on Georgia, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child highlighted the need for urgent measures in several key areas, including abuse, neglect, sexual violence, and exploitation of children. The committee expressed concern over insufficient measures to address violence in families, residential care, foster care, and educational institutions.
In June, the committee issued a decision on a complaint filed on behalf of 57 children residing in an orphanage run by the Georgian Orthodox Church. It found that the government failed to take necessary action to investigate and address the frequent physical and psychological abuse of children living there.
Labor rights
Labor rights continue to be a serious concern in Georgia. Overtime regulations are weak, wage theft is widespread, social protections are minimal, and wages are effectively unregulated. The national minimum wage of 20 GEL per month (US$7) has not been updated since 1999 and is almost 93 times lower than the estimated living wage of 1,858 GEL.
According to the Labor Inspectorate, 34 workers died and 347 were injured in work-related accidents during 2023. The rate of workplace injuries per 100,000 workers increased every year since 2020, though workplace deaths have declined over the same period.