Georgian Parliament official: law on family values shows effective preventive results

Rati Ionatamishvili, the chair of the parliamentary committee on human rights protection and civil integration, on Saturday said the law on family values and the protection of minors has proven effective in prevention, dismissing criticism that it restricted rights.

Speaking on Imedi TV show Open Air - Debates, Ionatamishvili noted that since the law’s adoption, there have been no reported cases of rights violations or formal complaints, which, in his view, disproved claims that the legislation is repressive.

“It has already been two years since we adopted this law [on family values and the protection of minors], and the stereotype that this law is about punishing someone or restricting someone’s rights is completely false. Over these two years, you cannot name a single person whose rights have been violated or who has filed a complaint, but in terms of prevention, this law has already produced effective results”, he said.

The official further argued that certain global trends and policy discussions may pose challenges for smaller countries like Georgia, especially when they are driven by what he described as organised and long-term strategies.

“If we see that there is a fairly significant problem that is not spontaneous, but rather involves well-planned and prepared strategies aimed at both short-term and long-term results - and such strategies are especially dangerous for a small country like Georgia - then I think you [Archil Gamzardia] should reconsider your views on this”, Ionatamishvili noted.

He drew attention to rapid societal and policy changes observed globally - ten years ago, concepts such as men competing in women’s sports or replacing “mother” and “father” with neutral terms like “parent one” and “parent two” seemed unimaginable.

“Ten years ago, it was completely unimaginable that anyone would talk about men competing in women’s sports and that this would be legalised. Today, there are concrete examples of this. We see that transgender individuals are participating in international tournaments, and there is an ongoing discussion about it. No one could have imagined that terms like parent one and parent two would be introduced in various applications”, he stressed.

“This is a registration form from a kindergarten; such forms exist in various US states, Canada, Scandinavian countries, France, and the United Kingdom, where mother and father are not specified”, the official continued.

Ionatamishvili cautioned that terms once considered fundamental may soon be labelled discriminatory.

“It has even gone so far that in 2024, Antony Blinken issued internal guidance to his staff, declaring terms like woman and man as inappropriate and instructing the use of so-called neutral terms. What is interesting here is that today mother and father are considered inappropriate terms, and tomorrow they may be declared discriminatory”, Ionatamishvili concluded.