TBILISI, January 30 – Twenty-four member states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe have activated the so-called ‘Moscow Mechanism’ to examine the human rights situation in Georgia, triggering one of the OSCE’s most serious monitoring procedures.
The decision will lead to the deployment of an independent expert mission tasked with assessing recent developments related to fundamental rights and freedoms in the South Caucasus country.
The ‘Moscow Mechanism’ allows a group of OSCE states to mandate independent experts to investigate serious human rights concerns in another member state, even without that country’s consent. It has been used only a limited number of times since it was created in 1991, most recently in cases involving Belarus and Russia.
According to the joint statement, the 24 countries said their move was prompted by increased concern after Georgia’s response to a previous OSCE mission carried out under the aegis of the ‘Vienna Mechanism.’
The expert mission is expected to produce a report documenting recent developments and offering recommendations. The observers will “[…] document recent developments in Georgia in respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms; assess the impact of these developments including for Georgian civil society, freedom of the media, the rule of law and independence of the judiciary, political pluralism and other structural components of a democratic society which underpin the OSCE’s comprehensive definition of security; and provide recommendations on how to address matters of concern,” the statement said.
The countries backing the move include the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Ireland, Belgium, Austria, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Montenegro, Moldova, Ukraine, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
OSCE’s ‘Moscow Mechanism’ deployment follows an earlier step taken in December 2024, when 38 OSCE states activated the ‘Vienna Mechanism’ to formally request information from Georgia about developments inside the country.
