Georgian Parliament official condemns political bias, exclusionary tactics at OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Georgian Parliament and Head of Georgia's Permanent Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, on Wednesday delivered a speech during the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly debate, warning that the organisation faced an existential crisis and calling for integrity, truth, and rule of law in the face of growing politicisation.

Speaking at the debate titled “OSCE 50 Years After Helsinki”, Samkharadze thanked outgoing OSCE PA President Pia Kauma for her leadership, then turned to the organisation's mounting internal challenges.

“I would like to start my intervention by thanking the outgoing president of the assembly, Pia Kauma, for her leadership and ability to withstand external and internal pressures. I commend her for navigating high waters and attempting to engage in meaningful dialogue. Thank you and I wish you all the best in your future endeavours. The title of our debate is OSCE 50 years after Helsinki. Unfortunately, we see that the organisation is in an existential crisis. OSCE failed to prevent armed aggressions by Russia against Georgia and Ukraine; it failed to regulate other conflicts. Security architecture for member states, which it once tried to build, is in shatters”, Samkharadze said.

The official condemned Russia’s occupation of Georgian territory, criticised the ineffectiveness of the OSCE in conflict resolution, and addressed the attempts by certain assembly members to exclude the Georgian delegation from participating in the current session in Portugal.

“Sovereign territories of my country have been occupied for the last 17 years by Russia and the international community can not do anything to change the status-quo. This crisis is further aggravated by attempts of certain members to silence and exclude colleagues who do not share their opinion or challenge them with valid arguments. Most of you dear colleagues are not aware of the fact that recently, several members of this assembly appealed to the Prime-Minister of Portugal not to allow Georgian members of the assembly to enter the country, thus trying to exclude the Georgian delegation from participation. This was a highly deplorable act worthy of the utmost condemnation, which goes against the values and principles of OSCE and parliamentarism at large”, he noted.

Samkharadze noted that certain OSCE members dismissed the findings of credible election observation missions, favouring political interests and promoting misinformation, including labelling violent protesters as peaceful demonstrators.

“We are witnessing worrying trends nurtured by some members of this assembly of neglecting the findings of election observation missions and making trumped-up statements serving their narrow political interests, the interests of their friendly parties (election deniers in our case) and completely disregarding facts. The recent debates in the committees, especially the ones concerning my country, have demonstrated to any neutral observer that accusations against countries are made without providing evidence and solid argumentation. If today, it is twisting the findings of electoral reports, spreading lies and calling people who attack with firebombs and Molotov-cocktails peaceful, tomorrow in the same vein we might be called elephants and then if the majority likes this label, then such a nonsense would also end up in the text of a resolution”, the official said.

He closed with cautious optimism, hoping that the next OSCE session would allow for a focus on more constructive and positive developments.

“This is a very dangerous path and erodes the trust and credibility of electoral observation missions and of the organisation in general. In these hard times when we are facing global security challenges, geopolitical shifts and increasing animosity between the states, we need to stand up for truth and the rule of law. I am an optimist by nature and I believe that truth always prevails over lies and facts always prevail over perceptions. Therefore, I hope that when we gather again next summer, I will be able to concentrate on more positive developments in the OSCE area,” Samkharadze concluded.