Human rights failures see Georgia reduced to the level of central Asian republics

December 9, 2009 by georgiamedia

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Years of human rights abuses mean that Georgia, along with Armenia and Azerbaijan, will have to satisfy the European Union it is willing to change course if it wishes to make any significant progress towards an "association agreement" with the 27 state bloc, Tbilisi's ministers were told yesterday.

As Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty point out Georgia is now to be treated in the same way as the central Asian republics - usually regarded with disdain by Tbilisi's political class for their alleged backwardness - and forced to take part in an annual "human rights dialogue".

The EU's council of ministers - the EU's key body in making foreign policy decisions - discussed the Southern Caucasus yesterday and in their press statement following the meeting they make a pointed reference to the importance of "conditionality" in driving further progress.

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