Civic platform "No to phobia!" And the „Coalition for Equality“ believe that the situation in Georgia in terms of protection of freedom of religion and belief has sharply deteriorated in recent months. The state violates the principles of secularism and equality, the rights of religious minorities and manifests unequal treatment towards people of different religious beliefs.

Signatory organizations are extremely concerned about the initiative announced by the authorities, as it essentially aims to impose sanctions due to the protest of the opposition parties as a result of which opposition MPs renounce their parliamentary mandates.

The purpose of the document prepared by GDI is to provide a brief overview of the problems and challenges associated with the protection of human rights and freedoms in Georgia in 2020. The document discusses issues related to civil and political rights, as well as questions on the concept of rule of law.

The Coalition is reacting to the draft decree, which was published on the High Council of Justice webpage on December 1, 2020. The decree is supposed to regulate the process of selection of Supreme Court judges by the High Council of Justice. The Coalition believes that the proposed rules do not ensure an open and transparent process. They also considerably limit the ability of the Council members to actively engage in interviews and pose questions to candidates at their own discretion.

The civil platform "No To Phobia!" responds to the statements made by the Prime Minister and the Vice-Prime Minister of Georgia about the planned exceptions to the curfew. The Platform calls on the Georgian authorities to consider principles of equality and rule of law when imposing restrictions, as well as exceptions, and not to set a new precedent for discrimination.