Majority MP rejects OSCE Moscow mechanism recommendations

A member of Georgia’s parliamentary majority, Tengiz Sharmanashvili, on Friday said the government will not adopt recommendations contained in a report prepared under the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Moscow Mechanism.

Speaking about the report on Friday, Sharmanashvili said the recommendations concerned issues that fall under Georgia’s sovereign legislative authority.

“Of course, we do not intend to share or implement these recommendations, because this is a matter of Georgia’s sovereignty. The legislative space is a sovereign right of the country and we will not interfere with it,” he said, adding that the government believed it had clear justification for the legislation it had adopted.

Sharmanashvili also criticised domestic opponents of the government, saying that “radicals” in Georgia had welcomed the Moscow Mechanism’s conclusions but were avoiding detailed discussion of the specific issues raised.

According to him, the report refers to matters such as same-sex marriage and medical procedures related to gender transition, as well as legislation concerning family values and the protection of minors.

He argued that such topics were of “existential importance” for the country and said the government would follow the will of the Georgian public when addressing them.