In Georgia, the law restricting the rights of LGBT+ people adopted by the parliament

The Georgian Parliament adopted a law on the “family values”denounced by the European Union (EU) and human rights organisations as restricting the rights of LGBT+ people.

The forbidden text “propaganda of homosexual relations and incest” in educational institutions and television broadcasts. It also bans “gatherings and demonstrations” promoting homosexual relationships.

In early September, the EU had considered that the text carried “violation of the fundamental rights of Georgians and risk[ait] to reinforce the stigmatization and discrimination of a part of the population”.

The legislation was approved by lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party in a vote boycotted by the opposition, amid a conservative and anti-Western shift by the government.

The adoption of the text by parliament could fuel tensions in the country ahead of crucial legislative elections on October 26. Eighty-four deputies voted for it and none against, according to the official count. The bill had been voted on at the end of June in its first reading and was therefore definitively validated almost three months later.

Similar legislation in Russia

In Russia, similar legislation repressing the “LGBT propaganda” was adopted about ten years ago and has been considerably expanded since then, with Moscow even adding the “international LGBT movement” on its list of declared entities “terrorists and extremists”.

The Georgian Dream party has already been accused by its critics of increasingly turning towards Moscow, despite the war Russia waged in 2008, and of drawing inspiration from repressive Russian legislation.

Georgia has been rocked in recent months by large-scale protests against a law on “foreign influence”which has been sharply criticized in the West and is close to Russia’s legislation on “foreign agents” which contributed to the repression of all opposition in this country.

European Union membership at risk

Opponents in Tbilisi accuse the Georgian Dream of jeopardizing their country’s hoped-for EU membership.

A predominantly Orthodox Christian country, Georgia was granted EU candidate status in December 2023, but accession negotiations have not yet begun. The country also aspires to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Before the summer, however, EU leaders had decided to“a stop” “de facto” of the accession process, pending a change of policy in Tbilisi.

The Georgian Dream party, for its part, accuses the West of undermining the “traditional values”a phrase also regularly used by Russian President Vladimir Putin.