PACE adopts resolution on Georgia, opposition hails ‘concrete action’

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted a resolution on Georgia following an emergency debate, which opposition figures in Tbilisi described as a “major step toward addressing democratic backsliding in the country.”

United National Movement (UNM) chair Tina Bokuchava said the resolution had gone beyond general calls and envisaged the activation of a concrete mechanism that would impose legal obligations on the Georgian government.

“This is not about broad appeals but about a specific mechanism that will place binding legal responsibilities on Ivanishvili’s regime through the European Court of Human Rights, requiring the annulment of anti-democratic laws and the cessation of human rights violations,” Bokuchava noted. 

According to her, this marked the first time such a mechanism had been invoked in relation to Georgia. She argued it underscored international concern over what she called the consolidation of “one-party dictatorship” and reflected Europe’s readiness to take steps in support of Georgian democracy.

“The civilized world is deeply concerned and is starting to act so that Georgian democracy is restored, so that the Georgian people receive tangible support, and so that Georgia returns to a normal European path of development,” Bokuchava said.