Georgian Parliament official says Helsinki Commission has effectively turned into political instrument used to interfere in internal affairs of other countries

Levan Makhashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s European Integration Committee, on Monday said the Helsinki Commission has effectively turned into a political instrument used to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

In his remarks, Makhashvili noted that the Commission was directly violating its own fundamental mandate.

“The Helsinki Commission was originally established to uphold ten core principles of international law, one of which is the obligation to refrain from interfering in the sovereignty of other states. What the Helsinki Commission is doing today directly contradicts its founding mandate. In reality, it has become an ordinary political tool for meddling in other countries’ affairs”, he said.

The official further added that hearings held by the Commission in recent years have consistently coincided with political developments favourable to Georgia’s opposition or periods when the opposition lacked a clear agenda.

“All such hearings held over the past years have either aligned with events that benefited the opposition domestically, or were organized when they had no agenda and nothing to say. In those moments, hearings were used as a lifeline to once again make damaging statements”, Makhashvili concluded.

Laura Thornton, who has referred to Donald Trump as a sexual abuser, will be one of the speakers at the Helsinki Commission on January 28, where a report on Georgia is scheduled under the title “The Growing Suppression of Dissent by the Georgian Dream”.

Thornton is the Director of Global Democracy Programs at the McCain Institute and previously headed the NDI office in Georgia.