The question followed the series of repressive anti-LGBTQIA laws being put in place in Georgia
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY GETTY IMAGES
Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East, questioned Home Office Ministers about the safety of LGBTQIA people in Georgia during Home Office oral questions this week (21 October).
These questions followed the Georgian government’s decision to introduce a number of repressive bills which will impact LGBTQIA rights, including restrictions on same-sex marriage and gender-affirming surgery. Despite these new legislative changes, the UK government has still classed Georgia as a “safe” country in their list of countries from where protection and human rights claims will be declared automatically inadmissible in all but exceptional circumstances.
Whittome asked Border Security and Asylum Minister Angela Eagle if she would “make an assessment of the potential merits of removing Georgia from her Department’s list of safe countries for removals, in the context of the recent passage of legislation on LGBT rights in that country.”
Responding to this question, Angela Eagle said that the Home Office “constantly updates our assessment of LGBT rights and other factors affecting the safety of different countries, working closely with the Foreign Office, and informed by regular independent reports from the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.”
Speaking to Rainbow Migration, a charity that supports LGBTQIA people seeking asylum, Whittome said: “I was pleased to hear that the Minister shared my concerns about worrying developments in Georgia for LGBTQIA people. It is vital that Georgia is now removed from the safe states designation to ensure that the claims of LGBTQIA refugees are properly assessed.”
Minesh Parekh, Policy and Public Affairs Manager for Rainbow Migration, added: “There’s mounting evidence of the danger that LGBTQIA people face in Georgia and the situation has only worsened in recent months. We urge the new government to remove Georgia from the list of ‘safe’ countries where it can return people to, and to signal to the world that it will not tolerate anti-LGBT hate.”
Last month, Asylos and Rainbow Migration released a report that shed light on a number of new repressive laws the Georgian Dream party is planning to put in place. 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.
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