CoE Commissioner urges Georgian Parliament to reject bill “restricting LGBTQ rights”

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, has sent a letter to the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, urging the legislative body to refrain from approving a controversial bill that could limit the rights of LGBTQ individuals and promote discrimination.

In the letter, made public by the Council of Europe, Commissioner O’Flaherty expresses “deep concern” over existing prejudices against LGBTQ people in Georgia. He highlights the “harmful rhetoric” used by politicians and reminds the Parliament that sexual minorities in the country continued to be targets of hate crimes. The Commissioner also criticized the inclusion of incest alongside sexual orientation and gender identity in legislative discussions, calling it “unjustified” and saying it “only worsens stigma against an already vulnerable group”.

“The well-established case law of the European Court of Human Rights rejects any form of stigmatization based on sexual orientation. A democratic society is founded on the principle of equal dignity and is enriched by diversity, which should be seen as a source of strength, not a threat,” O’Flaherty wrote in his letter dated September 6.

On September 4, the Parliament of Georgia, led by the ruling Georgian Dream party, adopted a controversial package of bills “against LGBT propaganda”. The proposed legislation would amend 18 existing laws.
The draft law, initially registered on June 10, 2024, aims to curtail rights and freedoms under the pretext of safeguarding family values, according to its critics.