We are deeply concerned about the current developments in Georgia (Sakartvelo) regarding the situation of LGBTIQ* individuals. A tragic peak was reached with the attacks on this year’s Pride in Tbilisi on 08.07.2023. We are therefore all the more astonished by the German government’s plan to classify Georgia as a safe country of origin.
On August 7 of this year, the fifteenth anniversary of Russia’s attack on Georgia in 2008 was marked. Parts of Georgia, including South Ossetia and Abkhazia, are still under Russian occupation. There are numerous internally displaced persons, many of whom live under catastrophic humanitarian conditions. Russia has repeatedly threatened to annex South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The consequences of this war and occupation extend even to Germany, as evidenced by the murder of Georgian citizen Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin’s Kleiner Tiergarten on August 23, 2019, which was carried out on behalf of Russian state authorities (see here). For these reasons alone, classifying Georgia as a safe country of origin is unacceptable.
The ruling party, “Georgian Dream,” is increasingly aligning itself with Russia. A symbolic example of this was the attempted introduction of a law on so-called “foreign agents,” which was ultimately withdrawn due to significant public protests. There are also efforts to introduce a law banning so-called “LGBT propaganda” following the Russian model. This reflects the emergence of a so-called “stabilocracy,” where Western nations prioritize political stability through an authoritarian regime over democratic and liberal reform movements, supposedly to avoid political chaos. The failure of this strategy has become evident, most notably through the decades-long appeasement of the Russian regime, which ultimately led to its large-scale war of aggression against Ukraine.
Despite Georgia’s general orientation toward the EU, transphobia and homophobia remain significant societal and political issues. According to surveys, 75% of the Georgian population opposes the legalization of same-sex marriage. LGBTIQ* individuals face challenges in accessing medical care. Additionally, there are recurring violent attacks, particularly during Pride events. In 2019, 2021, and again this year, Pride events had to be canceled or halted due to violent counter-protests by right-wing organizations. In 2021, a journalist was even killed. For LGBTIQ* individuals, internal flight is not a viable option. The Georgian state is neither willing nor able to provide adequate protection for LGBTIQ* people. According to the jurisprudence of the German Federal Constitutional Court, a country cannot be classified as a safe country of origin if even a specific group within the population faces persecution. Given the systemic deficiencies in Georgia concerning LGBTIQ* rights, this criterion is clearly met.