The Law of Georgia “On the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination” ( Georgian დისკრიმინაციის ყველა ფორმის აღმოფხვრის შესახებ ) is an anti-discrimination law adopted by the Parliament of Georgia on May 2, 2014 and entered into force on May 7, 2014. The law aims to combat discrimination , including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity . That is why he met with many protests from the Georgian clergy and conservative politicians.
| On the elimination of all forms of discrimination | |
|---|---|
| cargo. დისკრიმინაციის ყველა ფორმის აღმოფხვრის შესახებ | |
 | |
| View | Georgian law |
| room | 2391-II |
| Adoption | Parliament of Georgia May 2, 2014 |
| Signing | The President of Georgia on May 7, 2014 |
| Entry into force | May 7, 2014 |
| First post | May 7, 2014 |
Content
Content of the Law
The law prohibits discrimination due to race , nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation and gender identity , citizenship, place of residence, property status and some other characteristics [1] [2] . After the protests of the church, the government met with representatives of the clergy, as a result of which the text of the document underwent some changes. However, the signs of “ sexual orientation ” and “ gender identity ” remained in it despite the protests of the Georgian patriarchate [3] .
The bill is one of the conditions, the implementation of which is necessary to obtain a visa-free regime with the European Union . Similar laws have already been adopted in Moldova and Ukraine [1] .
Bill Consideration
The bill was passed on first reading by the Georgian parliament on April 17, 2014. 110 parliamentarians voted for the document [4] . The second reading of the bill took place on May 1, 2014. All 112 deputies voted unanimously for the bill [5] .
The third and final reading of the bill took place on May 2, 2014 - 120 deputies voted for the document, 1 deputy voted against. Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili signed the law on May 7, 2014. On the same day, the text of the document was published in the Legislative Gazette and entered into force [6] [7] [8] .
Criticism and protests
Criticism of Human Rights Defenders
Human rights activists criticize the bill. In their opinion, it is not effective, since it does not reflect effective mechanisms for implementing anti-discrimination measures. In addition, in their opinion, the document proposed by the government is significantly different from its original version, created by the Ministry of Justice in collaboration with non-governmental organizations, representatives of ethnic, religious and other social groups. In particular, in the new version, the provision providing for the possibility of penalizing an individual or legal entity, a state body or a local government body that discriminates [2] [4] has disappeared.
Protests by conservatives and clergy
The Georgian Orthodox Church actively opposed the adoption of the law, since, in its opinion, the law is the “propaganda and legitimization” of homosexuality. The Georgian Patriarchate insisted on the exclusion of signs of sexual orientation and gender identity from the text of the bill [1] [4] [9] . Some opposition politicians also opposed the document, for example, candidate for mayor of Tbilisi Dmitry Lordkipanidze and leader of the Christian Democratic Movement Georgy Akhvlediani [1] .
To de-escalate the conflict, the Georgian government even proposed introducing a ban on same-sex marriage into the country's Constitution , although the current civil code of Georgia defines marriage as an alliance between a man and a woman [10] .
See also
- Georgia and the European Union
- Law of Ukraine “On Combating Discrimination”
- Moldovan Law on Equality
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Mikhail Tishchenko. Ticket to Europe: The Georgian clergy opposed the law on the protection of gays . Lenta.ru (May 1, 2014). Date of treatment June 16, 2014. Archived June 16, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 The Anti-Discrimination Bill is presented to Parliament . Civil Georgia (April 10, 2014). Date of treatment June 16, 2014. Archived on April 13, 2014.
- ↑ Nina Ahmeteli. Law against discrimination in Georgia: the church does not agree . BBC Russian (May 4, 2014). Date of treatment June 16, 2014. Archived on May 7, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 3 The Anti-Discrimination Bill was adopted at the first hearing . Civil Georgia (April 18, 2014). Date of treatment June 16, 2014. Archived March 4, 2016.
- ↑ The Parliament of Georgia adopted in the second reading the law “On the Eradication of All Forms of Discrimination” (Inaccessible link) FRONT News (May 1, 2014). Date of treatment June 16, 2014. Archived March 4, 2016.
- ↑ In Georgia, a “European” law came into force that protects the rights of gays . Rosbalt (May 7, 2014). Date of treatment June 16, 2014. Archived May 15, 2014.
- ↑ The Anti-Discrimination Law Entered into force in Georgia . News Georgia (May 8, 2014). Date of treatment June 16, 2014. Archived July 9, 2014.
- ↑ The Anti-Discrimination Law entered into force in Georgia . RIA Novosti (May 8, 2014). Date of treatment June 16, 2014. Archived May 16, 2014.
- ↑ Georgian Patriarchate against anti-discrimination law . Civil Georgia (April 28, 2014). Date of treatment June 16, 2014. Archived March 4, 2016.
- ↑ The government takes the initiative to ban same-sex marriage under the Constitution . Civil Georgia (March 28, 2014). Date of treatment June 16, 2014. Archived on April 7, 2018.
Links
- Text of the law (cargo)
- Translation of the law (Russian)