The Commissioner published today her submission to the Committee of Ministers in the context of the supervision of the execution of the Identoba and Others group of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. This group of judgments relates to discrimination and manifestations of intolerance towards LGBTI people and religious and other minority groups, as well as their right to freedom of assembly and expression.
The Commissioner considers that while the overall societal attitudes towards LGBTI people and religious and other minorities have been gradually improving, the response given by the authorities to the repeated occurrence of discrimination and manifestations of intolerance towards these minority groups has up until now failed to address the broad spectrum of underlying reasons behind such manifestations.
In order to address these underlying reasons, the authorities should implement six recommendations set out in the Commissioner's report following her visit to Georgia in February 2022: commit to a zero-tolerance policy and practice towards all forms of discrimination and incitement to discrimination and violence ; combat impunity for serious human rights violations committed against LGBTI people and members of religious and other minority groups ; identify and effectively address any existing patterns of institutional culture within law enforcement agencies or within the criminal justice system which may directly or indirectly contribute to promoting such impunity ; ensure the effective enjoyment of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly of LGBTI people and other affected groups ; prevent and combat hate speech; and develop and implement a comprehensive and multi-dimensional state policy on protecting the human rights of LGBTI people and other affected communities.