The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has called on the Georgian government to repeal a law that targets the country’s LGBT community.
The committee, which is responsible for overseeing the execution of court judgments, made this call in an interim resolution. They noted that the European Court of Human Rights had previously ruled against Georgia over issues related to homophobic and transphobic attacks.
In these cases, the court found that the Georgian government had failed to protect its citizens from hate crimes. The committee stressed that it’s up to the government to ensure the principles of equality, tolerance, and freedom of assembly are respected.
The committee strongly urged the authorities to investigate previous incidents properly and to punish those responsible. They also called on the authorities to allow a school building to be used without delay, as per a court judgment.
However, despite these calls for action, the Georgian government enacted a law that prohibits public gatherings aimed at promoting LGBTI identities. This move has been seen as a step backwards by the committee.
The committee called upon the authorities to repeal this law and to stop taking steps that would further endanger Georgia’s compliance with its obligations under Article 46 of the Convention.
The resolution also emphasizes the need for the government to fight against all forms of discrimination, hate speech, and hate crime. The committee urged the authorities to guarantee effective exercise of freedom of assembly and religion for all individuals without any discrimination.
Finally, the committee invited the authorities to submit information on these issues by the end of June 2025 at the latest.