Human Rights | Georgia passed a law prohibiting gender reassignment, which the president did not approve

in Georgia a law has been approved that restricts the rights of sexual and gender minorities in the country.

Speaker of the country’s parliament Shalva Papuashvili says on social media that he signed the motion on the law on family values ​​and the protection of minors. Instead, the country’s president Salome Zurabishvili refused on Tuesday to sign the motion.

The law prohibits gender reassignment and invalidates same-sex marriages concluded abroad or on the territory of Georgia. It has been compared to Russia’s so-called “gay propaganda law”.

Human rights organizations and Western countries have said that the law is discriminatory and creates a dangerous environment for rainbow people.

The ruling Georgian Dream party pushed the bill through parliament last month. The country’s opposition boycotted the vote on the law.

According to Speaker Papuashvili, the law “is based on common sense, historical experience and centuries-old Christian, Georgian and European values ​​and not so much on changing thoughts and ideologies”. He claims that the law protects the rights of all citizens.

of the UN Office of the High Representative for Human Rights by the law also, among other things, sets discriminatory restrictions on education, public discussion and gatherings related to sexual orientation and gender identity.

According to the position of the UN agency, the law can encourage hate speech, lead to an increase in violence and increase intolerance and misinformation.

The law also makes it difficult for rainbow people to access health care services and negatively affects the fight against AIDS in Georgia.

In September, attention was drawn to a case in which a well-known Georgian trans woman was stabbed to death at the same time as the law was being discussed in parliament.

Dominating The Georgian Dream party has been accused of moving closer to the Russian regime and jeopardizing the country’s EU membership application.

In the law published by the EU last month in the statement it is stated that the law restricting rainbow rights, together with the law on foreign influence, further strains EU-Georgia relations.

In the summer, Georgia approved a controversial bill on foreign influence. President Zurabishvili also refused to confirm the law in question, which he called inherently Russian and unconstitutional.

The passage of the law led to weeks of anti-government protests.