Asylos and Rainbow Migration have expressed concerns for the queer community due to new regime
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY GETTY
New commentary published by Asylos and Rainbow Migration today (18 September) has revealed a number of worrying concerns about the safety of LGBTQIA people in Georgia.
This follows the UK’s decision in November 2023 to add Georgia among other countries like India to a “Safe States” list in draft regulations under section 80AA of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (as amended by section 59 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023). This meant that the government viewed Georgia as a place where protection and human rights claims would be declared automatically inadmissible, in all but exceptional circumstances.
Asylos and Rainbow Migration’s commentary has shed light on a number of repressive new laws the Georgian Dream party are planning to put in place such as bans on same-sex marriage, gender reassignment surgery, legal recognition of a gender change, Pride events, and the sharing of any information in schools which could be seen as “LGBTQIA propaganda”.
Minesh Parekh, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at Rainbow Migration, said: “We urge the new government to remove Georgia from the list of ‘safe’ countries where it can return people to. There’s mounting evidence of the danger that LGBTQIA people face there and the situation has only worsened in recent months.”
“During 2023, we supported Noah, a gay man who fled homophobic persecution in Georgia and who explained that if people hear that you are gay in Georgia, they will kill you. Noah was extremely fearful of being sent back to Georgia and said he would rather take his own life than go back and face persecution. Luckily, he was granted refugee status earlier this year, but other LGBTQIA people are still in danger. Everyone should have the right to seek safety here, no matter where they come from.”
While the UK has added Georgia to its list of “Safe States”, Belgium has removed the country from its own list. The Netherlands has designated Georgia as a “Safe State” unless the asylum applicant is LGBTQIA.
Find out more by reading the full commentary here.
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