Several Georgian NGOs have jointly appealed to the Director-General of the UN Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), UN Special Rapporteurs and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights regarding “alleged serious human rights violations and possible use of chemical and experimental agents by law enforcement agencies” during the demonstrations in Georgia. The third sector representatives announced the above at the joint briefing today. They call on the OPCW Director-General to exercise his mandate and consider sending a fact-finding mission to Georgia.

“The information we provided to international mechanisms concerns seven episodes of large-scale protests held in Tbilisi in November-December 2024, during which, according to the available evidence, law enforcement officers used chemical substances, including chemical irritants mixed with water jets and other identifiable or unidentified toxic and experimental compounds, which caused severe and long-term health injuries to the demonstrators.

Cases documented by non-governmental organizations, medical studies, testimonies of victims and investigative materials by international media show that the chemical agents used did not have a temporary or quick effect, but rather the symptoms - acute and long-term respiratory disorders, chemical burns, damage to the nervous system, visual impairments and other health problems - are observed even after a long time has passed since the use of chemical agents. This indicates that the chemical agents used and the methods of their use exceed the norms permitted by international standards.

The five-day so-called investigation and the presented “conclusion” raised questions and doubts instead of answers and once again made it clear that there is no effective, independent or reliable investigation mechanism in Georgia. The State Security Service confirmed that the Ministry of Internal Affairs did indeed have a toxic chemical substance with the code UN1710 in its possession and denied its use only on the night of December 4-5. Accordingly, the question remained unanswered - did the Ministry of Internal Affairs use the said chemical substance in 6 other cases? The investigation also failed to properly investigate and publish important information, expert conclusions, laboratory research results, etc.

Given the above circumstances, we called on the Director-General of the OPCW to exercise his mandate and consider the possibility of establishing the facts or sending an investigative mission to Georgia. In parallel, we have appealed to the UN Special Rapporteurs and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights to respond within their mandates, to ensure international monitoring and to facilitate the establishment of the truth, in order to protect the rights of the victims.

Our aim is not only to investigate possible grave violations committed in the past, but also to prevent future violence and to uphold the fundamental principles of international law in Georgia. Victims of chemical poisoning have the right to have full information about the chemical agents used, in order to be able to receive adequate treatment.

In addition, we welcome the initiative of the Rapporteurs on Georgia and the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in which they called on the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate the use of chemical agents against demonstrators in Georgia and their impact on human rights.

"We continue to fight for human rights and call on international organizations to act immediately and use the levers at their disposal to protect the rights and dignity of victims," ​​reads the joint statement by NGOs signed by:

Sapari, Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA), Georgian European Orbit, Prevention for Progress, (PFP), Georgian Center for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (GCRT), Defenders of Democracy, Civil Society Foundation, (CSF), Social Justice Center, Georgian Future Academy, International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, (ISFED), Transparency International - Georgia and Economic Policy Research Center.