Statement of Georgian NGOs About May 17th

Source: Identoba, May 15, 2015 | Statements |

May 17th, is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. In 2012 and 2013, Georgian LGBT people were not able to mark the day and exercise their right to freedom of expression, association, and assembly. In 2014, due to extremely high risks, LGBT community decided not to hold any public event.

On the  May 17th case, 2012, The European Court of Human Rights said:

“At the outset, noting that this issue is not even in dispute between the parties, the Court affirms that the disruption of the applicant’s’ participation in the peaceful march of 17 May 2012, organized to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, undoubtedly constituted an interference under Article 11 of the Convention, read in the light of the relevant principles under Article 10. Indeed, the Convention protects public forms of expression, including through holding a peaceful assembly, and the expression of opinions in relation to campaigning for and raising awareness of the fundamental rights of various sexual minorities.”

In 2015, Georgian civil society and activists would like to express our solidarity towards LGBT community in Georgia. Our aim is to raise public awareness on the issue of freedom of expression. We would like to inform the Georgian government, and the society about the decision the European Human Rights Court has issued.

Considering the experience of past years, in 2015, non-governmental organizations call the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia to ensure the safety of the event, and in future, to effectively eliminate discrimination and violence. Aside from this, it is crucially important that everyone understands their own responsibility that may be related to organizing public activities.

We hope that in 2015, Georgian state authorities will efficiently ensure the safety of the citizens’ rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly, without any prejudice to sex, language, religious beliefs, political or social belonging, or any other social background.

Everyone will be able to express their solidarity by filling the registration form below.   Your participation matters!

1. Caucasian Environmental NGO Network – CENN
2. Civil Development Agency – CIDA
3. Constitution Article 42
4. Georgian  Reform Association – GRASS
5. Georgian Association of Social Workers  – GASW
6. Georgian Democracy Initiative – GDI
7. Georgian Young Lawyer’s Association – GYLA
8. Human Rights Monitoring and Education Centre – EMC
9. Identoba
10. Integration – EuroAtlantic Choice
11. International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy – ISFED
12. International Transparency – Georgia – TI
13. Media Development Foundation – MDF
14. MultiEthnic Georgia – PMMG
15. Open Society  – Georgian Foundation –  OSGF
16. Partnership for Human Rights  – PHR
17. Tolerance and Diversity Institute –  TDI

Before submitting your application, you must read and agree to the following rules:

1. Arrive exactly on the indicated time.
2. Bring your ID card.
3. You will not be able to park your vehicle, so arrive with public transport or taxi.
4. Do not bring any posters, banners, whistles, flags, sticks, selfie-sticks, glass bottles, jewelry, bags or backpacks, or any sharp materials.
5. Do not navigate in big groups (more than 3 people).  Do not gather anywhere else in advance.
6. Bring fully charged cell phones.
7. Noisy behavior, whistling, shouting, aggressive behavior is prohibited. In case of violating this rule, the organizers take no responsibility. Police will arrest any individual who will be seen to behave in such a manner that may cause conflict.
8. For your own safety – to arrive and leave the venue safely, do not paint your face, wear ordinary clothes, do not wear clothes that have symbols or texts that easily capture attention, in order not to be easily identifiable.