OSCE: Georgian "foreign agents" law should be repealed

The law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence" adopted in Georgia contains serious flaws that make it incompatible with international human rights standards and the country's obligations as an OSCE state, and it should be repealed.

Caliber.Az reports citing Georgian media that this conclusion comes from the OSCE/ODIHR Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

On Tuesday, the Georgian parliament overcame the president's veto of the so-called law on "foreign agents." The bill, which faced opposition from the opposition, NGOs, and Western entities, requires NGOs and media outlets, with at least 20 per cent of their annual income from foreign funding, to register as organizations pursuing the interests of foreign powers and to submit an annual declaration.

"A law that defines civil society and media outlets as 'organizations pursuing the interests of a foreign power' merely for receiving foreign funding does not meet the strict requirements set out in international human rights law," stated ODIHR in its conclusion.

ODIHR's analysis also highlights significant differences between the recently adopted law and similar legislation in other countries. For example, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in the United States and the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act in Australia are fundamentally different in their purpose and scope. These laws aim to ensure public registration of entities directly involved in promoting or lobbying the interests of foreign powers, without labeling all civil society or media outlets as foreign agents simply for receiving foreign funding.

ODIHR calls on Georgian authorities to repeal this law and align their legislation with international standards. They suggest considering less intrusive alternatives, such as regulating lobbying activities, enforcing strict rules on political party and campaign finance, and implementing anti-corruption or anti-terrorism laws to promote transparent and accountable public decision-making processes.

The ODIHR emphasizes that while certain obligations on civil society organizations may be justified from a human rights perspective, they should not target the civil society sector broadly or presume that all organizations receiving foreign funding represent foreign interests.

ODIHR remains ready to assist the Georgian authorities in identifying legislative or other alternatives to address genuine issues in line with international human rights law.

The Urgent Opinion was prepared based on input from members of the ODIHR Panel of Experts on Freedom of Assembly and Association and reviewed by Antonina Cherevko, Senior Adviser to the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media. The expert group includes several dozen members, one of whom is lawyer Jeremy McBride, who has defended the interests of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in the European Court of Human Rights.

Rati Ionatamishvili, a member of the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party, noted that McBride was also the head of the Council of Europe expert group that prepared a report on the Georgian transparency law for the European Council. The Venice Commission had recommended that Georgia refuse to adopt the draft law on 'foreign agents' due to its inevitable negative consequences for freedom of association and expression.

Ionatamishvili supported his statement by publishing documents with McBride's name, including the cover page of the Venice Commission's opinion and an extract from the European Court of Justice case "Saakashvili v. Georgia."