The United Kingdom, joined by 23 other OSCE participating States, has formally invoked the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Moscow Mechanism to establish an expert mission examining the deteriorating human rights situation in Georgia.
The announcement was delivered on 29 January at the Permanent Council in Vienna. Members expressed concern over continued police violence against protesters, restrictions on freedoms of expression and assembly, politically motivated detentions, and legal actions targeting opposition parties. Despite earlier dialogue under the Vienna Mechanism in 2024, participating States say Georgia’s human rights and fundamental freedoms have further deteriorated.
The fact-finding mission will assess developments since spring 2024, evaluate their impact on democratic institutions and civil society, and provide recommendations. States have urged Georgia to cooperate fully with the mission, which will focus on areas under Tbilisi’s control while noting the ongoing Russian presence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
“In December 2024 38 participating States invoked the OSCE Vienna Mechanism, in order to express concern about developments in Georgia and to request more information. Georgia’s response at the time left unanswered questions about accountability for police brutality against protestors in December 2024 and January 2025. Indeed those acts were at that time assessed as “unlawful violence against citizens…that may amount to torture.” To this day no official has been held accountable for such violence."
Source: commonspace.eu with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Ambassador Anna Olsson Vrang, Permanent Representative of Sweden to the OSCE
