Resolution on Authoritarian Decline in Georgia

Endorsed by the United National Movement (UNM) of Georgia
December 5th, Washington DC

HAVING regard to the final report of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on the parliamentary elections held in Georgia on October 26, 2024,

HAVING regard to the Resolutions adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) on Georgia’s worsening democratic crisis following last year’s parliamentary elections and the decision of Georgian authorities to suspend Georgia’s European Accession,

HAVING regard to Georgia’s status as a European Union (EU) candidate country, granted by the European Council at its summit of December 14-15, 2023,

HAVING regard to Article 78 of the Georgian Constitution, which demands the implementation of all possible measures to guarantee Georgia’s complete integration into the EU and NATO.

The International Democracy Union (IDU) therefore;

1. Condemns the crackdown, illegal detention, torture and inhuman treatment of civilians participating in continuous peaceful protests for almost a year since November 28, 2024;
2. Calls on relevant international bodies, including the Organization for the Prohibition on Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to launch an investigation into latest reports on the use by special forces of a prohibited chemical agent (bromobenzyl cyanide) against peaceful protesters and hold decision-makers accountable before international law;
3. Deplores continued attacks on civil society, free media and academic institutions to restrict NGO activity, critical journalism and academic freedom;
4. Denounces political repression and politically motivated arrests of political leaders, journalists, civic activists and peaceful protesters;
5. Condemns the authorities’ move to ban opposition parties through a mock constitutional court process aimed at silencing dissent;
6. Urges the Georgian Dream to immediately release Mikheil Saakashvili, the third president of Georgia and more than 200 other political prisoners, and stop instrumentalizing the judiciary as a means of political retribution;
7. Calls on the authorities to immediately cease repression of peaceful protesters and to restore respect for fundamental freedoms and basic human rights, including freedom of assembly and expression;
8. Urges the authorities to cease constitutional proceedings against political parties as a move to destroy Georgia’s democratic and European credentials and consolidate a one-party dictatorship;
9. Calls on all like-minded international partners to use relevant instruments, inter alia, the Council of Europe’s GRECO and MONEYVAL to probe into recent high-profile cases of corruption, money-laundering and international sanctions evasion in Georgia;
10. Refers to resolutions adopted by the European Parliament and PACE underlining that the settlement of the current political and constitutional crisis in Georgia can only be achieved by way of new parliamentary elections, in an improved electoral environment, overseen by an independent and impartial election administration and monitored through diligent international observation to guarantee a genuinely fair, free and transparent process.