Thank you.
The UK welcomes Georgia's determination to make progress on human rights. We are pleased that Georgia has accepted all of our recommendations, but we reiterate the importance of progress on judicial reform, a key element in the inter-party political agreement. We urge Georgia to take this into account before appointing further Supreme Court judges under the current process, to demonstrate its commitment to judicial independence.
Whilst we welcome the partial implementation of recommendations from the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights' report on last year's elections, a number still need to be addressed. All reforms need to be completed well ahead of October's local elections to restore public confidence in democratic institutions.
We also urge Georgia to undertake further reforms and implement existing legislation effectively on the protection of the rights of minorities, including the equal rights of the LGBT+ community.
We encourage Georgia to submit an optional mid-term report to update on implementation of recommendations.
I thank you.
