“When reviewing the materials presented by the Georgian side and the meetings attended by the expert in question, one can examine in detail the information provided to her and judge for oneself whether there is any connection whatsoever between that information and the conclusions drawn,” said Georgia’s Foreign Minister, Maka Botchorishvili, speaking about the report on Georgia prepared by an expert under the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism.

As Botchorishvili noted, the report is entirely one-sided and bears no relation whatsoever to the principles upon which the OSCE is founded.

“When you hear both sides, you must conduct a proper analysis and at least endeavour to reflect both perspectives. When a report is entirely one-sided and has nothing to do with the principles on which the OSCE, and this mechanism in general, is founded, will anyone take its recommendations seriously? Ask the other OSCE member states. Beyond the 23 who invoked the mechanism, there are many more states. What do they think of such an approach?

This report exemplifies the exploitation of an international organisation and its internal mechanisms for narrowly political objectives, aiming to produce only a few days’ worth of domestic political agenda. Having exhausted all other options, they are now leveraging every available mechanism to provide the opposition in Georgia with the maximum possible political lifeline and support,” Maka Botchorishvili has said.

In response to the question of whether “the OSCE’s recommendations are binding, given that this is a legal document?” — Botchorishvili stated that no such thing as a binding recommendation exists.

“What does ‘binding’ mean? There is no such thing as a binding recommendation,” she said.

The OSCE has published a report on Georgia, prepared under the Moscow Mechanism, which reviews developments in the country concerning human rights and fundamental freedoms from spring 2024 onwards. The report also outlines a series of recommendations. Among other things, the report states that the laws on family values, transparency, agent registration, and provisions relating to foreign grants “should be repealed.”