Georgia is a medium-risk country for CSOs, activists, and human rights defenders, according to the findings of the CSO Meter 2023 assessment.

“2023 was somewhat turbulent for Georgian civil society. On 14th December, Georgia obtained European Union (EU) candidate country status. This is a great achievement for the country and its people who have repeatedly chosen to be a part of the European family. Considering this trajectory, the suggested draft law about ‘foreign agents’ in the beginning of the year raised great concerns. (....) T

he draft law triggered widespread protests, attracting a diverse group of demonstrators, including young people, students, and community organisers, who voiced their opposition to the law. Law enforcement responded with force, deploying tear gas, water cannons, physical confrontation and mass arrests, provoking criticism for their use of disproportionate measures against peaceful protesters. In light of these developments, the governing party made the decision to retract the proposed legislation shortly thereafter, attributing this action to their intention to actively include the public and provide a more comprehensive explanation of the law’s objectives once heightened emotions had faded. 

Nevertheless, the consequences of these events have had an enduring and detrimental effect on the state-civic sector relationship, which has yet to be restored”, mentioned in the report.

The civil society environment in Georgia exhibited a modest degree of transformation in relation to the previous year, as it continued to grapple with a multitude of obstacles. The overall country score remained the same as in 2022 (4.8 out of 7), as did the overall country scores in law (5.2) and practice (4.3).

what has changed?

• Several areas noted deteriorations in score. Area 3 (Access to Funding) deteriorated in practice from 5.3 in 2022 to 5.1 in 2023 and Area 4 (Freedom of Peaceful Assembly) deteriorated in practice from 3.9 in 2022 to 3.8 in 2023. There have been negative developments in Area 8 (State Duty to Protect) in which the score in practice deteriorated from 3.9 in 2022 to 3.8 in 2023 and in Area 10 (State-CSO Cooperation) in which the score in practice deteriorated from 3.9 in 2022 to 3.8 in 2023
• The two areas with the highest overall scores remain the same as in 2022: Area 1 (Freedom of Association) with 6.1 out of 7) and Area 2 (Equal Treatment) with 5.6 out of 7, followed by Area 6 (Freedom of Expression) and Area 11 (Digital Rights) which both have the same overall score as last year, 4.9.
• Although Area 7 (Right to privacy) in the only area in which an increase in the score in legislation was ecorded this year (as a result of Parliament adopting the new Law on Personal Data Protection, the score rose from 4.6 to 4.7), the area remains one of the three lowest-scoring areas in 2023, together with Area 9 (State Support) and Area 10 (CSO-State Cooperation).

All score

See more - CSO Meter 2023

This report was prepared by the Civil Society Institute in partnership with the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) and the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI).

The ‘CSO Meter: A Compass to Conducive Environment and CSO Empowerment’ project is implemented by ECNL.