Georgian Parliament Speaker: International institutions are only as strong as trust allows; authority stems from facts, not political expediency

“The rules-based international order does not erode by itself. It erodes when international institutions that embody our shared values and rules are weakened,” Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili stated in his address at the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament in Rome.

According to Papuashvili, the growing practice of leveraging international organisations and weaponising them to advance politically motivated and perception-based positions is concerning.

He noted that an institution used as an instrument is no longer an institution; it is an extension of someone’s interest.

“International institutions are only as strong as the trust and commitment behind them. Their authority stems from legitimacy: the belief that rules apply equally to all; that decisions rest on facts and fair procedure rather than political convenience; and that no one is above them. When the legitimacy fades, no treaty text can restore it.

And why do these institutions weaken when the international order continues to crumble before our eyes? Too often, they weaken because they are instrumentalised. The growing practice of leveraging international organisations and weaponising them to advance politically motivated and perception-based positions is concerning. When some states and political groupings use institutions to advance narrowly defined political agendas, to pressure some members while shielding others, or to turn monitoring and assessment into political tools, they hollow out these institutions’ core meaning. An institution used as an instrument is no longer an institution; it is an extension of someone’s interest.

PACE’s treatment of Georgia is a very good example of this. In October 2024, Georgia held parliamentary elections. OSCE/ODIHR assessed them in detail, found them competitive and generally expressing the will of the people. The OSCE / ODIHR Report describes strengths and weaknesses and offers a path forward,” Shalva Papuashvili noted.

According to the Speaker of Parliament, in contrast to the OSCE/ODIHR assessment, the Council of Europe delegation, made up of PACE members, chose a diametrically different course.

“Disagreeing with OSCE / ODIHR, PACE prepared a report that questioned the results of the elections. Even though Georgia’s international partners, including the EU, emphasised that the OSCE/ODIHR report would be decisive in evaluating the elections, this promise was disregarded by some European governments and political groupings. Based on this near-fraudulent Report, PACE adopted a resolution that, as a matter of fact, rejected the recognition of a democratically elected Georgian Parliament. After almost two years, all allegations and pretences advanced by PACE proved to be wrong, unfounded, and factually false. Nevertheless, PACE refuses to admit its deliberate mistake, while the process entered an impasse.

Thus, the organisation that we joined for safeguarding our sovereignty and popular democracy persists in violating the Georgian people’s democratic will, and thus its freedom. PACE should return to the very foundations of international law, for the sake of which it was created to uphold. The situation where democracy, sovereignty, human rights, and freedom have become formal slogans only is not tolerable. The end result of this process is loss of trust and evisceration of the Organisation.

Parliamentary diplomacy is an important tool that can contribute to the support of rules-based order, but it is crucial to clearly differentiate dialogue from interference. Dialogue means exchanging views, sharing best practices, and holding all states to common standards that all members have freely accepted. Restoring the rules-based order, therefore, begins with renewing the integrity of the institutions and organisations that sustain it. Georgia remains committed to this task,” Shalva Papuashvili declared.