Violence against demonstrators, journalists, politicians has gone uninvestigated, raising concerns about impunity, the Dutch Ambassador to Georgia, Meline Arakelian, told reporters.

“I must say that this year this particular award [in human rights] has acquired special relevance for Georgia. Because, unfortunately, we have seen a setback in the protection of human rights in Georgia, due to specific laws adopted last year that were very harmful to civil society.

The so-called family values ​​law has opened the door to censorship and further stigmatization of Georgia’s already vulnerable citizens. And what we have seen over the past few weeks – violence against demonstrators, journalists, politicians has gone uninvestigated, raising concerns about impunity.

So today's award is not directly related to the events in Georgia, because, as I said, we do this every year in many countries around the world, but this year it has a special relevance in Georgia and it remains a reminder to all of us that we cannot take human rights for granted. In fact, we need to actively protect these rights and we need to actively protect the people who protect human rights," Arakelian said.