LONDON, Jan 29 - Britain, Canada, Germany and 21 other OSCE members on Thursday said they would launch an expert mission to examine the deteriorating human rights situation in Georgia. In a joint
OSCE Members Initiate Investigation into Georgia's Human Rights Issues
OSCE Investigation into Georgia's Human Rights
LONDON/TBILISI, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Britain, Canada, Germany and 21 other OSCE members on Thursday said they would launch an expert mission to examine the deteriorating human rights situation in Georgia, amid concerns in Europe of democratic backsliding in the EU candidate country.
Once among the most democratic and pro-Western of the successor states to emerge from the Soviet Union, Georgia has turned increasingly authoritarian since the outbreak of war in Ukraine and has deepened economic ties with neighbouring Russia.
In a joint statement, the countries said that in December 2024, 38 participating states invoked the OSCE's Vienna Mechanism to express concern about developments in Georgia and to request further information from the authorities.
Concerns Over Democratic Backsliding
The statement, published on the British government's website, said their concerns over the authorities' implementation of international human rights obligations had increased.
Restrictions on Civil Liberties
It lists restrictions on freedom of expression, legislative reforms constricting civil society and legal actions against opposition groups among areas of concern.
The South Caucasus country secured EU candidate status in December 2023, but Brussels has accused Georgia of "serious democratic backsliding" and said in November it was now considered a candidate nation "in name only".
Political Climate and Opposition Actions
Georgia has since abolished an anti-corruption body established on the EU's recommendation amid a crackdown on opposition politicians that has seen several of the most prominent ones jailed.
The ruling Georgian Dream party, in power since 2012, has signalled it will try to ban the main opposition groupings outright on the grounds they pose a "real threat to the constitutional order". The opposition groups say the effort is politically motivated.
(Reporting by Muvija M in London and Lucy Papachristou in Tbilisi; Editing by Kate Holton and Alison Williams)
