Marc Cools, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, has made the following statement:
"I am deeply concerned about the adoption by the Parliament of Georgia of the legislation "On protecting family values and minors", despite the persistent calls from the Council of Europe bodies, including the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, and the international community against this move.
"This legislation seems fundamentally at odds with the principles enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and a draft constitutional law with similar content previously received a critical opinion from the Venice Commission. It denies LGBTI people their human dignity, undermining the values of equality, inclusion and diversity that underpin cohesive democratic societies and which the Congress resolutely defends and promotes across regions and municipalities in Europe and beyond.
"I am particularly worried that, as a result of this legislation, instead of firmly rejecting any kind of discrimination, including based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Georgian authorities at all levels of government will be legally obliged to implement policies that violate the human rights of LGBTI people, and thus contribute to their stigmatisation and social exclusion. This is detrimental to the development of diverse, tolerant, and peaceful communities. It is even more worrisome as this legislation follows the adoption of the law on transparency of foreign influence, which the Congress and other Council of Europe bodies deplored, and adds to Georgia's deviation from core democratic values.
"I therefore encourage the President of Georgia to veto this legislation and urge the Georgian parliament not to override yet another presidential veto. It is crucial to ensure that human dignity is universally respected and upheld by all. In this regard, I stress the importance of maintaining political dialogue with the authorities of Georgia, as developed during the Congress Monitoring Committee meeting in Tbilisi on 2 July 2024 and that we intend to pursue. To this end, I intend to organise soon a high-level visit to Georgia.
