Non-governmental organizations are responding to the legislative initiative of the Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee of the Parliament of Georgia relating to the amendments to the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting and believe that the proposed amendments will limit the basic principle of freedom of media and inadmissibility of censorship enshrined in the Constitution of Georgia.

The proposed initiative will take effect on September 1, 2020 and is related to the dissemination of information in the media. According to the amendments, Articles 56¹ and 56²  are added to the law. The bill introduces the concept of dangerous information for the child, sets criteria for defining the categories of programmes, which, in turn, establishes what should be considered an unsuitable programme for certain age groups.

At first glance, the change is related to important issues such as coverage of violence, suicide, drugs, gambling and sex scenes. However, the new regulations use a number of vague terms ("promoting socialization", "inappropriate programme", "offensive vocabulary", etc.), definition of which is difficult, subjective and evaluative. The proposed norms restrict the fundamental right to freedom of mass media and inadmissibility of censorship enshrined in the Constitution of Georgia. In addition, the restriction is vague and provides a significant opportunity for media control and censorship. The legitimate aim of such a restriction on freedom of expression should be clear and should justify the supreme value of the protection and welfare of children.

At the same time, the amendments to the Law on Broadcasting "reintroduced" the notion of perverted sexual intercourse in the Georgian legislative space, which was removed from the Criminal Code in 2013 as a discriminatory term.

The legislative changes are not in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as Article 13 of the Convention provides for the right to information, while Article 17 recognizes the important role of the media in providing information to children.

When drafting the amendments, the Committee did not ensure the involvement of the non-governmental sector, which has the relevant competence in the field of protection and welfare of children. The NGOs note that this is not the first time that the statements and initiatives of the Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee contradict the basic human rights standards. The activities of the Chairperson have been critically evaluated by the non-governmental sector for years.

Accordingly, NGOs call on the Parliament

• Not to adopt the proposed amendments;
• To ensure the involvement of the non-governmental sector and stakeholders in the process of drafting amendments tailored to the true interests of the child.

Signatory organizations:

Democracy Research Institute (DRI)
Femina
Education and Labour Association
Femina Solidarity Fund
Equality 17
Real People and Real Vision
Media Club
Maia Tsiramua (child psychologist)