Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 14
14
Not Addressed
We call on the Government to implement new targeted financial and travel sanctions on Georgian...
Recommendation
We call on the Government to implement new targeted financial and travel sanctions on Georgian Dream officials supporting the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Georgian kleptocrats and Georgian media organisation spreading disinformation. These additional designations would significantly increase the cost on those who are seeking to undermine the Georgian people’s desire for a European alignment and signify the UK’s support for Georgian democracy, not autocracy. (Recommendation, Paragraph 84)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government's response discusses its longstanding commitment to protecting media freedoms and offers to provide verbal briefings, but it does not address the recommendation to implement new targeted financial and travel sanctions on Georgian Dream officials and other entities.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government · verbatim extract
Not Addressed
16. The UK stands with the Georgian people’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations, shares the Committee’s serious concerns about democratic backsliding in Georgia and strongly condemns efforts to undermine fundamental freedoms, including through disinformation and repression of legitimate protest. 17. The UK has imposed sanctions on Georgian officials responsible for serious human rights violations, demonstrating that those who undermine democracy and repress peaceful dissent will be held to account. 18. In February, the UK sanctioned two Georgian-based television channels, Imedi TV and POSTV, for their prominent and sustained role in disseminating Kremlin aligned disinformation about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, assessed as undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty and stability.2 This demonstrates our firm commitment to combating FIMI in Georgia and FIMI targeting the Georgian diaspora. 19. The Government will continue to work closely with our international partners to support democratic resilience in Georgia, and to counter the FIMI threat, making use of the full range of tools at our disposal, including sanctions, in line with our values and relevant legal frameworks. However, we will not speculate on or comment on future sanctions designations as to do so could reduce their impact. Nevertheless, all sanctions decisions are taken based on robust evidence and kept under regular review.
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