Statement by the Board: Designating organisations as “foreign agents” is dangerous and undemocratic.

On Tuesday May 14 2024, the Georgian parliament approved controversial plans to brand hundreds of NGOs and media outlets as “foreign agents”, by 84 votes to 30. According to the updated regulations, pushed forward by the governing Georgian Dream party with minimal time for proper scrutiny, civil society organisations that derive over 20 percent of their funding from overseas sources will need to officially register as “entities serving the interests of a foreign authority.”

If adopted, the authorities will have the power to levy heavy fines against those who are not compliant. In response to the progress of this bill, there have been large scale protests in Georgia in recent weeks, which have been met with a violent response from the authorities.

As we have seen first-hand in Russia, similar legislation has been wielded to suppress voices of dissent, particularly those advocating against corruption and government back-sliding. Looking to the future, these types of “foreign agent” legislative proposals are often one of the first steps towards normalising repression and curtailing human rights.

We stand with the Georgian civil society as they protest against this abhorrent law – and call on the Georgian government not to override President Salome Zourabichvili’s upcoming veto. This legislation must be repealed immediately. We also condemn the violence utilised by the authorities in their dealings with protestors. All cases of excessive use of force by the police should be duly and independently investigated and punished by the state.

Looking further at the implications for Wider Europe, we call on EU bodies and civil society to oppose this legislation in every way before it becomes a dangerous precedent across the region. Georgia is an EU candidate country, a member of the Council of Europe and a party to the ECtHR. This law does not fit with the values of any of these bodies.

At the Civil Society Forum, we stand against the repression of NGOs across the entirety of Europe and beyond. We are very clear that a free and functioning civil society is a cornerstone of a functioning democracy.

Contacts:

Aniko Bakonyi, Co-Chair of the Civil Society Forum board

Andre Gerrits, Co-Chair of the Civil Society Forum board

For any enquiries, please contact us at info@csf-ev.org