On April 30, a group of Georgian and international organizations addressed a letter to the main international financial insitutions operating in Georgia (Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the International Monetary Fund) to express concerns on the draft law of “Transparency of Foreign Influence”, that is expected to be approved in the coming weeks.
This bill will lead to further repression and restriction of civic space in Georgia by labeling, stigmatizing and denigrating independent media, human rights defenders and civil society groups. More than 500 Georgian Civil Society Organisations and media have condemned this law, while tens of thousands have joined mass protest actions.
In the letter, the signatories call on the ADB, EBRD and IMF to:
- Call on the Georgian government not to undermine the aspirations of the Georgian people and the decades of work already done to join the European family and halt adoption of the of proposed law;
- Warn the government about the impacts of the law on sustainability of investments and the business environment;
- Coordinate joint efforts with all development partners and donors to signal that the current legislative initiative on the NGO law contradicts the principles of development assistance;
- Develop and communicate a position on this repressive legislation in bilateral discussions with the government, and share this position with national civil society and media;
- Reconsider its country strategy for Georgia to reflect the new risks this legislation poses;
- Suspend all new funding for state agencies in Georgia until the process of passing the proposed law is halted, as it increases the risk of projects failing to meet performance standards by limiting opportunities for meaningful stakeholder participation.
You can find the letters below.
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